


better off

by pjobarbz81018



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-03 04:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15811161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pjobarbz81018/pseuds/pjobarbz81018
Summary: “Percy, why won’t you tell me?”Percy bit his lip, avoiding eye contact with the blonde. “It will ruin our friendship,” he whispered.“And why’s that?” Jason asked in an equally low voice.“Because I’ve been in love with him since I met him. And if I tell him our friendship will be ruined."





	1. one kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One Kiss- Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa

Jason sat on his bed, laughing at something the boy next to him had just said. Him and his best friend were in the midst of their annual beginning of summer movie marathon. They picked out some shitty horror movie that was in black and white. Percy kept commenting about the god-awful special effects and even more god-awful acting. Honestly, he wasn’t even trying to be funny. Really, his comments were dry observations that just happened to be funny.

When you looked at Jason and Percy, you’d never guess that they had been friends for a decade. Jason was a muscular blonde teen with military cropped hair, glasses and a small scar on his lip. Percy on the other hand had wild black hair that contrasted his pale skin, was on the scrawnier side (still in ok shape) and shorter than Jason by a few inches (although Jason was a monster at 6’1” and Percy struggled to reach 5’10”). At school Jason was also extremely popular- his popularity growing after a stellar junior year football season. He was also a star student and a _total_ teacher’s pet. Percy on the other hand didn’t have any athletic ability (sadly the school didn’t have a swim team) and struggled in most of his classes. Teachers generally were horrified when they learned Percy would be in their class. Students were too. His ADHD made him a nuisance.

Yet here these two were, best friends.

The movie ended and Percy slinked off the bed, popping one CD out and putting another one in. Yes, they were fully aware of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu but after using CDs for years it only made sense to keep up the tradition.

“Ya know,” Jason said as Percy sat back down, popping popcorn into his mouth. “We should invite Piper and Annabeth to our next ones.”

Percy nearly choked. “Uh, why?” he asked, coughing up a popcorn kernel. Somehow Jason didn’t notice.

“Because Piper just so happens to be my girlfriend and you are into Annabeth.”

The black haired boy raised an eyebrow. “So? Who says I’m into Annabeth?”

“Well wouldn’t it be fun to hang out with them? And come on, you’re so into her! What other blonde would you be into?” Percy blushed. Jason grinned. “I knew it!”

“Jase, I’m not into Annabeth. Plus, I like it when it’s just the two of us, _and_ this is the first time we’ve hung out in two months because you and Piper have been attached at the hip! I miss us hanging out,” Percy admitted. Somehow, Jason missed the pleading in Percy’s voice. The moment he thought about Piper, his whole mind was consumed by her. Two months before the school year ended they had gotten together, much to the dismay of most of the girls in the school and a certain black-haired boy.

“Well she’s my _girlfriend_. Maybe if you hooked up with her you’d understand what I mean.”

“I don’t want a girlfriend,” Percy said, his voice raising in volume. He could get as loud as he wanted since the house was empty besides him and Jason.

Jason rolled his eyes. “If you’re scared of getting rejected that’s alright, Perce. I doubt Annabeth will reject you, though.”

“I’m telling you I don’t like Annabeth or any _girl_ ,” Percy groaned in frustration. He ran a hair through his dark locs.

“Then who’s the blonde you’re into?”

“You’re so dense.”

“I’m your best friend, dude. Why can’t you tell me?”

“Because!” Percy yelled, throwing his arms up in the air and successfully knocking over his glass cup. It shattered as it made contact with the floor.

Jason didn’t seem to notice, though- too focused on trying to figure out his best friend. After a decade of friendship, it was amazing that there was this one thing that Jason didn’t know about Percy since Percy knew everything about Jason. It was frustrating. A key component friendship of friendship is trust and that didn’t seem to be apparent in Percy. Jason grabbed the smaller boy’s wrists to prevent him from escaping and looked into his eyes. Percy struggled, but it was no use since Jason was much stronger. Stupid sports.

“Percy, why won’t you tell me?”

Percy bit his lip, avoiding eye contact with the blonde. “It will ruin our friendship,” he whispered.

“And why’s that?” Jason asked in an equally low voice.

“Because I’ve been in love with him since I met him. And if I tell him our friendship will be ruined,” Percy admitted, finally meeting Jason’s eyes.

All at once the gears in Jason’s head began to turn and all at once they stopped as Percy surged forward, capturing Jason’s lips with his. Jason sat in shock as his best friend kissed him. It was soft. Percy tasted like salt water. But it was wrong. Everything about the situation was wrong. He was in a committed, albeit young, relationship with Piper. And he wasn’t _gay_. Finally coming to his senses, Jason pushed Percy away from him. Anger began to flood his system, not even registering Percy’s pained yelp as he fell off the bed.

“What the _hell_ was that, Jackson?” Jason growled.

“I-I- ow, fuck,” was Percy’s response. Small pieces of glass poked out of his bleeding hand.

“Get out.”

“Jason, I- I’m so sorry, I-,” Percy pleaded.

“Now!” At this point, Jason was seething.

Without another word, Percy grabbed his duffle bag, slinging it over his shoulder, and ran out the door, cradling his bleeding hand.

Jason sat on the edge of his bed for the next few minutes, staring at the broken glass on his hardwood floor. The anger that infiltrated his system began to retreat, leaving Jason utterly drained mentally and emotionally. He began to realize how rash and uncalled for his actions were but something also told him that his anger was valid. Not only had Percy violated Jason’s trust, he could have jeopardized Jason’s relationship with Piper. Making a mental note to pick up the glass in the morning, Jason turned off the light and the movie that had been playing in the background. Jason was tired. So he slept.

* * *

 

In the morning Jason checked his phone to see if there were any messages from Percy- snaps, facebook, instagram, texts, twitter. Jason combed through each social media app to see if there was any indication that Percy had been active. Nothing.

Over the next few days, Jason made to effort to contact Percy. Not that Percy tried either. He watched as their 736 day snapchat streak disappeared. Streaks were supposed to disappear within 24 hours but somehow it felt that the timer was there for nearly 3 days. It was at that point Jason concluded that his friendship with Percy was over.

It was the day after Jason’s birthday when Percy’s presence returned to social media. He had just got a notification that Piper tagged him in a picture. Piper, the loving girlfriend she was, but also a procrastinator, had posted a belated birthday post dedicated to Jason. Jason scrolled through each picture, taking in each memory that Piper had posted before reading the heartfelt post, double-tapping, and leaving a comment.

Jason decided to scroll through his instagram feed. It was rare he was on the app and he seldom posted- maybe once every couple months. Rarely did he ever take the time to scroll through the app. Social media was overwhelming to Jason. He wasn’t one of those teens that kept everything up to date and managed between each app nor did he find it necessary (although he _was_ proud of his over 1,000 followers on the app for someone who rarely posted). Also, Jason was just too busy with school and sports and Piper.

Today, he wasn’t sure if he was thankful he was on the app or upset. A few posts below Piper’s was a picture only posted an hour earlier. Jason studied the picture closely. The picture was of Percy, who he hadn’t seen or even spoken to in a month. The boy in front of him was recognizable but had very distinct changes. The picture was taken at the beach with the caption “deep underwater is where i left my love” followed by a sun emoji. Percy was posed leaning back on his hands, sitting on his towel as the gold evening rays of the sun hit his unusually tan skin. Sunglasses were perched on his nose and he gave the camera a lazy smile. Jason couldn’t help but notice how much Percy had changed. He seemed taller and stronger- broader shoulders, more defined and prominent muscles. Short rainbow swim trunks showed off his long, strong legs. A tattoo of a trident peeked out on his forearm, while another one of a wave was displayed on his side in a simple line. The sun glinted off of the new lip ring.

Jason was stunned to say the least. This was the boy that just a month ago he has hurt and cut ties with. The small boy that kissed him. Jason clicked on his profile, curious if there was anything else that he missed. There was only one other post. It was from a week before. Percy was at a Pride Parade dressed in jean shorts, laceless tennis shoes, a rainbow headband and a tie dye crop top. The caption was simple “ _#_ proud” with a rainbow emoji. Jason was surprised to see the amount of likes on the picture and the amount of followers Percy had gained. Jason also took note that there were only the two recent posts left on his page.

Closing the app and setting the phone on his nightstand Jason laid on his bed, lost in thought. In the last month, Percy had glo’d up _a lot_. He seemed like a completely different person. Nothing like the boy that kissed him only a month prior. A sigh escaped his lips. What was school going to be like when it started?


	2. keep on walking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keep On Walking- Gabrielle Aplin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy you all are liking the story so far! Jercy is my all time favorite pairing and I wish there were more fics about them, so I figured I'd make one. I really want to explore high school with this fic, adding in obviously cliche parts, but also navigating social media and self-identity. So I'll also be getting a little into social issues but it won't be super in your face :) I also am publishing this chapter at 1 AM and I'm tired so I'm sorry if the grammar and spelling sucks at some parts I TRIED DAMMIT

Summer passed by too quickly for Jason’s liking. He had spent at least half his time with Piper, even going on vacation with her and her dad. Once in a while he’d stalk Percy’s social media to see what was new. Facebook was typically just sharing funny dog videos and things his mother tagged him in. Twitter seemed to be retweets about swimming and happenings in the music world. The only time Jason would hear his voice would be on Percy’s snapchat or instagram stories (but those were rare). Instagram had seen a development of an aesthetic in Percy’s pictures, whether it be the filter, the poses, the clothing, or the time of day they were taken. Even the captions were aesthetic. Annabeth occasionally appeared in a picture and the best pictures almost always had Rachel Dare as the photographer. Jason would never admit it outloud, but Percy was _hot_. Not that he was gay or anything. No homo. Totally.

Jason pulled into the school parking lot in his designated spot. He took a breath. It was senior year. He was in the running for salutatorian (no one could get close to Annabeth’s GPA), captain of the football team, had a beautiful girlfriend and colleges vying for his attention. Senior year was going to be a breeze.

At least that’s what he hoped.

Opening his door, Jason gathered his bag and strolled through the parking lot towards Goode High. Students were scattered outside on the quad and throughout the halls. Class didn’t start for another fifteen minutes so that was expected. Some freshman traveled in packs, huddled over a map of the school. This caused Jason to chuckle to himself. He remembered when that was him. Now he was a senior. Oh how time flies.

Jason made his way to his first class having no need to even go near his locker. Piper had said she’d meet him in second period, (AP Physics) which they shared, since she had to pick up Leo and Leo was always late. Jason’s first class was Advanced Ceramics. Honestly, Jason had no issue with his schedule. 6 classes everyday, 55 minutes each for the whole year (besides his electives which were for one semester each). It could be worse. Only four of those classes were AP as well which was the lightest load Jason had since freshman year. Thankfully he began everyday with ceramics. Jason loved art. He wasn’t ever good at drawing or painting, but he had a knack for pottery and sculpting.

The room was big seeing it had to fit at most thirty students comfortably, a kiln, and tons of storage for clay, paint, and the pottery tables. There was only one other person in there. He was sitting at the far end of one of the tables, his face covered by his backpack. His head seemed to be in his arms- probably sleeping. Jason sat a few feet away. It would be awkward if he was right next to the boy and even more awkward if he was opposite the room as if avoiding him like the plague. Jason made the mistake, though, of pulling his stool rather than picking it up and setting it down quietly to sit on it. The boy instantly lifted his head up. Jason’s eyes went wide. Part of him wanted to hightail it out of the room and transfer. The other side couldn’t stop staring.

Percy rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was quite enjoying his nap and planned to cuss out whoever disturbed it. Until who he saw it was. Jason sat a few seats away, frozen on the spot. Percy’s heart rate sped up and his palms began to sweat. He couldn’t tell if it was from fear or rage. Fight or flight. Either way, there was adrenaline involved. Percy hadn’t seen or even spoken to Jason in months. His heart suddenly ached as much as it did the night Jason broke it. The scar on his hand throbbed. It was amazing he didn’t puke. Suddenly, he felt like he was back to the love-sick boy he was before the summer began. Then he remembered who he was and all the confidence building, and self-growth he went through over the summer. He wouldn’t let that all disappear because of _Jason_. He didn’t deserve that.

An easy smile worked its way onto Percy’s face. Bright white teeth contrasted tan skin, making them even brighter.

“Forgot you were into sculpting, Grace,” he said smoothly. Percy’s words were picked carefully. There was no outward indication of his pain, but those who knew their relationship would know instantly something was wrong. For one, Percy would never called Jason by his last name and vice-versa. Two, Percy wouldn’t forget anything about Jason. _Ever_. Even if he tried.

Jason was stunned and didn’t even register Percy’s words. The boy in front of him was even more of an instagram model than the one he was online. Sharp jaw, mischievous smile, beautiful bright sea green eyes. Jason also took note of the muscle that could be seen from the tightness of his t-shirt that proudly displayed Beyonce’s face.

“I-uh-hi,” was all Jason could manage as he tried to keep the blush from creeping up on his cheeks.

Percy smirked. Inside, it felt like his heart was being melted in a volcano. “A man of many words it seems.”

“I-well, it’s been a while. You’re different,” Jason explained, getting over his nervousness. Or maybe it was guilt. Possibly attraction.

“That happens when you move on, Grace,” he spat. Anger bubbled in his stomach.

Jason leaned forward and lowered his voice as students began to gather in the room. Thankfully none sat close to them.

“You kissed _me_ , Percy,” Jason said through clenched teeth. “What was I supposed to do? Cheat on my _girlfriend_? You’re the one that did the stupid thing and fucked up, not me.”

Percy stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Was it his fault that their friendship ended as messy as it did? Yes. Did he hope that by kissing Jason he’d wake up some dormant feelings? Yes. But what was Percy supposed to do? Everyday the fire inside him, his love for Jason, burned hotter and hotter to the point that it physically hurt to even be near the blonde. It hurt even more when Piper came into the picture. If anything, ending their friendship is what Percy needed to move on- or at least he thought it was. All summer he spent trying to improve himself and do what made him happy. He began to work out, swimming everyday, going to the gym. He got a job as a lifeguard at the YMCA in town which gave him pool and gym perks. He got tattoos, explored his music tastes and sexuality. Percy even got a tutor so he could actually do well in school. It was an extremely liberating summer, and he wouldn’t trade it even for Jason.

At least that’s what he told himself.

The bell finally rang and the rest of the class filtered in. Nothing really happened for the rest of class. Percy and Jason ignored each other and the teacher reviewed classroom safety and protocol.

When the 50 minutes was up, the bell rang. Percy nearly ran out of the room. He felt as if he was suffocating for the hour and was in desperate need for air. Thankfully the nearest bathroom wasn’t that far away- just down the hall. His bag fell to his feet and his hands gripped either side of the sink. Percy scolded himself for letting Jason get the better of him like this. He wouldn’t let it happen again.

* * *

 

Physics passed by rather slow for Jason. Despite having Piper next to him, the room felt like an icebox and his mind kept floating to Percy. Thankfully he didn’t really have to concentrate on any material in class because, like every class, it was mainly a syllabus review. Thankfully he also had AP Literature with Piper. Sadly he also had it with Percy (who sat right in front of him). Not once did Percy look back, though. It was borderline agonizing. As if Percy was teasing Jason by being so close but not giving him the satisfaction of his attention. Piper kept Jason distracted- something he figured would bother Percy if he was hearing their conversations. But the black-haired boy didn’t even flinch.

Jason hated first days of school- especially because school always started on a Thursday so he was usually in for 2 days of boredom. Not that he was a sucker for homework, but he was bored out of his skull with no work to do- even with his beautiful girlfriend next to him. She was just barely keeping his mind from wandering to the boy in front of him. Jason prayed to any and every god that he and Percy had no more classes together. Hopefully Percy wouldn’t be in any of his electives next semester either.

His heart clenched.

How could he have gotten to the point where he hated Percy so much that he didn’t even want to _attempt_ to rekindle their friendship? Did he actually hate Percy? Or was he just angry for ripping his best friend away?

“Jason?” Piper said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. Jason shook his head, regaining his focus.

“Yeah, sorry Pipes. I was totally daydreaming.”

Piper scoffed. “You’re telling me. The bell rang and you didn’t even notice.”

Jason looked around to see students gathering their bags and placing their phones in their pockets away from the critical eyes of teachers in the hall (apparently texting and walking is worthy of detention). Jason also noticed the empty chair in front of him as if it was never filled.

A warm smile graced Piper’s beautiful tan complexion. “I need to get to French, but I’ll see you at lunch, kay?” She gave Jason a quick peck on the lips before disappearing out the door and into the sea of students. Jason finally stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. His stomach growled again. Lunch couldn’t come soon enough.

* * *

 

The class period before lunch was always the longest- especially when you didn’t have snacks. 55 minutes suddenly felt like 3 hours as Jason attempted to hide any and all sounds his stomach made during his AP Latin class. He tried to focus on the review packet the teacher handed out but his hunger was becoming unbearable. When the bell finally rang for lunch, Jason ran so fast to the cafeteria he may have had broken another track record.

Piper was waiting for him at a table outside (senior privilege) with Leo, Reyna, Frank, and Hazel. They all smiled as he approached and took his seat between Piper and Leo.

“Yo, Jase, I haven’t seen you in weeks!” Leo greeted.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Leo, you literally saw me yesterday when we hung out, remember?”

“But that so _long_ ago!” the Latino complained, throwing himself on Jason.

“You guys hung out yesterday? Why wasn’t I invited?” Piper exclaimed. “And Leo get off my boyfriend! If you want someone to cuddle with get a teddy bear.”

“But Frank is taken and I couldn’t do that to Hazel,” he said, gesturing to the couple that seemed to be in their own world.

Jason rolled his eyes, adjusting his glasses. He proceeded to eat his meatball sub as the group fell into comfortable silence. Piper had subconsciously moved her hand to the back of Jason’s head and began running her fingers through his hair which he let grow over the summer. Jason loved it when Piper played with his hair and rubbed his head. It was just such a loving gesture. Damn he got lucky.

“Wait,” Reyna said, getting the attention from the group since it was the first time she had spoken all lunch. “Where’s Annabeth?”

“Oh she’s sitting with Percy,” Leo answered, gesturing to a table inside. Jason refrained from wincing at the name. The energy of the group almost instantly changed since everyone was aware of what Percy did. Jason may have left out some parts though. Did it matter to Jason? No, because the only thing that mattered were Percy’s actions.

True to his words, Percy and Annabeth were seated inside with three other people: Rachel, Will, and Nico. It made sense why they were all in there since Nico wasn’t a senior so he didn’t get the privilege to eat outside. Jason watched as they laughed- seemingly at Percy’s expense, but he soon joined in as well. Jealousy rose in Jason’s throat but he quickly swallowed it. Before long, the bell rung for the howevermany-nth time that day.

“See you all in gym?” Hazel offered. Jason smiled. He totally forgot that they all signed up for gym.

“Totally.”

* * *

 

It’s not that Jason hated math, he just hated doing math right after summer. Calculus BC seemed to be the only class he had actually work in since the teacher refused to waste a day of class. Her reasoning was they they had little time to prepare for the AP test in May. She wasn’t wrong but after having her for a year in Calculus AB, Jason knew she could finish the curriculum twice with ample time to spare. His brain was not used to working so fast after months of not using it. So when it was time for gym, Jason took it as a blessing.

Coach Hedge, the baseball coach that Jason thankfully didn’t need to deal with outside of the class, handed each student a lock, a locker number and combination for the locker room, and told them to be changed and on the gym bleachers in 8 minutes (Jason tried to ignore the odd time he picked). He also clarified that if you were a student-athlete, which Jason was, it would double as your sport’s locker.

Jason made his way passed the empty showers towards the lockers. He caught sight of Leo and Frank who were already changed and chatting away. They waved to Jason and he waved back. After another few seconds and passing by several other boys changing, Jason rounded a corner of lockers only to see Percy shirtless and sliding off his shorts. Thankfully the black haired boy’s back was to Jason so he wasn’t able to see how red the blonde’s face turned at the sight. Percy had a nice ass. At least that’s what any non-straight male would say. Jason took another moment to study Percy. Jason could see the wave tattoo on his side but also a tattoo he hadn’t seen before. It was on his right shoulder in swirly letters “ _you can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore_ ”.

“Take a picture it’ll last longer,” Percy said, jolting Jason from his thoughts. The boy Jason had been staring at turned around after slipping on his shorts and shirt.

Jason tried to ignore the blush on his face. Maybe if he didn’t notice it, Percy wouldn’t either. “Just waiting for you to leave so I could get some privacy.”

Percy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “I’ve known you for ten years Jason. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“That was before,” Jason reasoned. Percy took a step forward, anger flashing in his sea green eyes. It was quite intimidating. At least Jason still had about an inch (but Percy was still at a formidable 6 feet) on him and definitely more muscle.

“Before what? Before you learned I was gay? Fine I’ll give your bum ass your fucking privacy,” Percy growled, stomping away.

* * *

 

Less than five minutes later, Jason joined his friends and the rest of the class on the bleachers as they awaited Coach Hedge’s instructions. Jason took note that Rachel and Annabeth were also in the class.

“Okay, cupcakes. Since it’s the first day of your senior year I figured we’d start out with something fun. Dodgeball.”

Almost instantly the class erupted into cheers which Hedge halted almost immediately.

“Quiet down, quiet down. Now, for the team captains. Chase, Jackson, you’re captains.”

Percy and Annabeth walked down from the bleachers and stood in front of the class.

“Ladies first,” Percy said mockingly, gesturing for Annabeth to pick first. The blonde rolled her eyes but complied.

“Frank,” she declared. He joined her on the court by her side.

“Reyna,” Percy said without hesitation.

“Jason.” Jason didn’t miss the quick glare that Percy shot Annabeth. She shrugged it off easy as if to say ‘All’s fair in love and dodgeball’ because only Annabeth would be referencing a dead poet from the 1500s with a simple shrug.

“Rachel.”

The picking went on until the teams were made. Hedge put the rubber balls on the centerline as each team lined up across opposite walls and pretty evenly matched

“Now, no face-shots, no throwing the ball if your foot is across the line. If you touch a ball but don’t catch it, you’re out. You can’t hold two balls at once and no blocking with a ball. You can get back in if your teammate catches a ball and if your ball if caught, you’re out. Last team standing wins. Kapeesh?” Nods were given in response but eyes were trained on the balls at the center of the room.”

The whistle blew.

* * *

 

Dodgeball was definitely one of the most exhilarating games in human existence. It was like the Hunger Games without all the death but somehow more cutthroat (no pun intended). Friendships could be ended at the hands of a red rubber ball. It was a game of strength, strategy, and reflexes. Jason was thankful he had all three as a ball soared by his face. He retaliated by whipping his ball at one of his classmates, hitting them in the side.

The game had been going on for five minutes and five people from Jason’s (or rather Annabeth’s) team had gotten out. As quickly as they got out, they got back in as Jason’s teammates caught the projectiles. Percy’s team was going through the same thing. Teammates got tagged out but were back in a few minutes later. Fifteen more minutes passed and only a couple people on each team were out.

“Rule change: if you’re out, you’re out for good! Let’s finish this up cupcakes and I’ll let you out early!” Hedge shouted.

Almost instantly, 3 more people on Percy’s team got out.

Ten more minutes passed. Jason threw another ball. Four people remained on his time, including him and Annabeth. Three on Percy’s including him, Reyna.

Whenever the numbers begin to shrink during dodgeball, every player becomes more cautious. Less balls are thrown and there’s more sizing the other team up than anything, waiting to see who makes the first move.

“If you hold a ball for more than ten seconds, you’re out!”

Five minutes passed. Jason had gotten Reyna out and the third teammate out with the same ball as they both tried to reach for it but it fell out of their grips. But before they got out, Annabeth and his other two teammates were also hit.

Percy and Jason stood on opposite sides of the court.

“Sudden death! There are no sides, it’s a free-for-all! No sides!”

Jason and Percy shared one more look before darting towards the nearest ball. They exchanged throws but neither was getting close to another. It wasn’t until somehow with Percy’s luck every ball ended up near Jason that he could only hope to dodge until Jason ran out of ammo. Jason threw a ball, Percy dodged. The gap between them closed. Another ball. Smaller gap. Another ball, smaller gap. Jason stood only ten feet from Percy who was backed into a corner.

Right as Jason released his ball, someone shouted from the stands. It was as if everything happened in slow motion “You better not lose to that faggot, Grace!”

Percy’s attention was completely ripped away from the ball flying towards him as his face turned towards the stands, a mix of emotions on his face. But one rose dominantly to the surface: sadness and hurt. The ball connected with Percy’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. Percy dropped to the ground instantly.

The room was silent in response to the words said and Percy’s reaction. It was as if the life had been sucked out of him.

“Octavian! Go to the principal’s office _now_! I will be there momentarily,” Hedge shouted angrily as Jason ran to Percy’s side.

Percy sat on the ground, back to the wall, completely pale and clammy. It was as if he had seen a ghost in some cliche movie.

“Perce, Perce, are you okay? Percy, talk to me,” Jason begged.

“F-fuck off, Grace,” the boy stuttered, trying to wave Jason away.

“Not until I know you’re okay,” Jason concluded. Percy stood up slowly as the class began to gather behind Jason.

Percy looked up, meeting all of their concerned looks. He hated feeling weak. He swore he’d never show weakness again after he kissed Jason. So, he put on an easy smile, but his pale skin and shaking hand betrayed him.

“I’m fine, just got the wind knocked out of me. Good game, Grace. Now if you excuse me.” Percy pushed passed Jason and his classmates towards the locker room.

“You sure you’re okay, Percy?” Annabeth asked.

Percy gave a weak thumbs up. “Never better,” he said, continuing his walk to the locker room on clearly shaky legs.

He felt like he was climbing Mount Everest. He had to keep reminding himself, though, that all that glitters is not gold and that flowers grow from bruises. All he had to do was keep on walking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have NO idea where this fic is heading and I'm so excited!!!! I also which I was way better at writing so I hope I get better with each chapter. Also, I'll try to update as much as possible. I usually write as long as I feel inspired to write. I wrote this chapter then completely rewrote it when I was in a better headspace, so updates could be a day or a week later. I'm starting college soon so I'll get as much done before then, and when it starts I'll try to update at least weekly :D


	3. the crying game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crying Game- Nicki Minaj

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is heavier than the first two, mainly just to push the plot, so there is just scene that's a huge chunk of dialogue.  
> **Mentions of molestation, non-con, abuse, suicide possible trigger words

Jason didn’t see Percy when he went to the locker room. His lack of presence at school the next day was also painfully obvious. Jason had chosen another seat in ceramics, but Percy never walked through the door. Nor was he in AP Literature. Octavian wasn’t in gym either which was a good sign at the very least. Thankfully it was the weekend, and a long one at that (bless Labor Day), so he didn’t need to bother himself in school drama. All he had to do was hang around his house until Drew’s party later that night.

Drew Tanaka. Most people took to calling her Regina George because it seemed to be just as fitting with her high-and-mighty attitude and her posse of flaming haired demons (Jason was completely convinced they were monsters disguised as humans). Every year since freshman year she had thrown a beginning of school party on Labor Day weekend. It wasn’t her craziest party of the year but it was definitely up there. Somewhere between Spring Break and Halloween. Jason was planning on sitting out this year. Colleges were looking to recruit him and he had no desire to put that anywhere in jeopardy. It wasn’t that Jason wasn’t responsible, but Drew’s parties could get pretty wild. Yet, Piper had insisted they’d go (she had done some coaxing about things they could do _after_ which may or may have not motivated Jason a bit). Jason just couldn’t say no to her.

Figuring he had some time to kill until the party, Jason got comfortable on his bed and pulled out his phone. He unlocked the device with his thumb-print and instantly went to instagram. After Jason discovered Percy’s knack for the app, he found himself on it more often, though he’d never admit it. It didn’t take much scrolling for Jason to come across Percy’s most recent post. Percy sat in a chair in a tattoo parlor, his shirt off. He was giving the camera a thumbs up and flashing a white smile as the artist seemed be working on a tattoo. The camera was angled in such a way that the artist- who was heavily tatted herself, even on her bald head, which was clear even against her dark skin, was hiding the area she was working. Two consecutive needle emojis made up the caption. Jason contemplated double tapping the picture.

Even though he stayed following Percy over the summer, Jason never once liked one of his pictures. If he did, he’d figure Percy would take that as an ‘I’m sorry’ and Jason didn't want that. He was hurt by what happened at the beginning of the summer and nothing could change that. If anyone were to apologize first it was Percy. It _should_ be Percy. Regardless, Jason’s thumb hovered over the picture, threatening to tap that little heart. Posted twenty one minutes ago. 67 likes. Jason refreshed the picture since it had been a couple minutes since he clicked on it. Posted 23 minutes ago. 81 likes.

It wouldn’t hurt to like the picture, right? If anything, Percy would miss the notification in the sea of likes and comments he was already getting. Jason double tapped the picture and immediately closed the app, getting as far away from his phone as possible as if it were going to explode.

The screen lit up with a notification.

Jason gingerly picked up his phone, still fearing its spontaneous combustion, and look at the notification.

_p3rcy_j started following you._

Jason turned his off and set it back down. If anything, he was slightly offended that Percy stopped following him in the first place. His heart pounded as if he had just did a workout. He needed a nap.

* * *

 

After a nap, Jason woke up. The clock read _6:07 PM_. He had slept for 3 hours. He checked his phone briefly. Piper had texted him 15 minutes ago to pick her up at 10 for the party. Jason had four hours to kill. With four hours to kill, Jason figured he’d do a short workout. Practice officially started Tuesday anyway so might as well get an early start. Afterwards he planned to shower and eat. He’d probably have about a half hour to kill until he had to pick up Piper which was perfectly fine with him. Knowing Piper, she’d be snapchatting him in that time, helping him pick out an outfit so they could coordinate. Jason would be annoyed but he found it sweet. Plus, he wasn’t exactly the epitome of male fashion. His style was pretty plain. It served a purpose and he didn’t look like a schlub, so what was the harm. Who needed anything more than the standard shorts, jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts anyway? There were probably less than ten articles of special occasion/need-to-be-dressed-better-than-casual clothing in his closet. You’d think as the son of a rich dad and actress mother he’d have more clothes. Usually people with money used that privilege, but not Jason. Sometimes he felt guilty about it since he had the ability to use his money but never did just because he didn’t want to while some people had barely anything and had to use any money they could to stay afloat.

Jason made his way to his closet, pulling out some workout clothes and changing into them. He grabbed his car keys and wallet on the dresser and made his way to the kitchen to grab a water from the fridge before closing the front door and leaving the large, empty house, heading to the gym. Jason hated that his house was always empty. His mother was dead and his step-mother was usually with his father on business trips as his assistant. Probably just an excuse to keep an eye on him, though, since he had a tendency to cheat. After all, his step-mother was the result of an affair Jason’s dad had which drove his mother to become an alcoholic and die in a drunk-driving accident.

* * *

 

The gym was fairly quiet for the time being quarter-of-seven. Usually people were coming in from after work or after dinner. Jason chalked it up to it being a Friday so people had better things to do than be at the gym.

The local gym was fairly large- more like an athletic center. It had a weight room, machines, a boxing ring, several rooms for people who liked to take early morning classes, an olympic sized pool, and even a daycare center for parents to drop their kids off. After checking in, Jason walked through towards the room with the lifting equipment. Most rooms he passed by were empty, mainly since they were used for morning classes, except for one. Jason slowed down as he heard the sound of fists against a punching bag. Slowly, he rounded the corner to find Percy in the center of the boxing ring, punching the absolute _shit_ out of the poor sand-filled bag. Something in the back of Jason’s mind laughed at the fact that the situation reminded him of _Avengers_ when Nick Fury visits Steve Rogers in the boxing ring. He quickly pushed the thought into the back of him mind.

Should he go in and say hi? Make conversation? Keep walking? Jason’s legs started pulling him towards into the room before he could even decide himself if he wanted to go. Percy didn’t notice Jason approaching. A pair of red wireless headphones were perched on his head- the music drowning out all sound, the punching bag getting all of his attention. Jason stood several feet away, figuring he’d wait until Percy was done to say hi.

About two minutes later, Percy’s arms dropped to his side. Sweat dripped off his arms and forehead, and drenched his hair and gray tank top. He leaned down to reach into his duffle bag when he noticed Jason. Percy nearly jumped out of his skin and Jason had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.

“What the _fuck_ are you doing here Grace, and how long have you been watching me?” Percy asked, taking off his headphones and resting them on his neck. He didn’t seem angry, but Jason knew Percy could change moods before he could blink.

Jason shrugged. “I heard someone in here and turns out it was you.”

“Yeah but that doesn’t answer either of my questions,” the shorter boy retorted.

“Well to answer your second question: only a couple minutes. And to answer your first,” Jason looked down at his shoes, “I wanted to check in about yesterday. You seemed pretty shaken up.”

Percy winced. “You knocked the wind out of me is all,” he lied smoothly. Jason knew better. He scoffed.

“We’ve been friends for a decade, Percy. I can tell when you’re lying. You looked like you were going to vomit yesterday. You could barely _walk_.”

“ _Were_ friends,” Percy corrected, crossing his toned arms.

Anger began to bubble in Jason. No one had made Jason so angry so quickly more than Percy in the past two days. It was as if he was saying it was Jason’s fault for their friendship bursting into flames! Jason clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

“Why can’t you accept that _you_ were the one that fucked up, Percy?” he yelled sharply. “ _You_ kissed _me_. Not the other way around! I did nothing wrong!”

Percy threw his bandaged hands (he took boxing safety seriously) into the air, clearly just as fed up as Jason was.

“Oh yes, because the oh-so-perfect golden boy Jason Grace can’t fuck up! You know I’ve heard the locker room talk? At the end of your football practices outside the locker room, waiting for you so we could hang out after?” Jason stayed silent.

“I’ve heard the fucked up things you guys talk about. You’d think today men wouldn’t be such pigs and objectify women and drop the word ‘fag’ like it’s nothing. And not only do you let it happen, Jason, you have joined in before. Do you know how much that killed me inside to know the the boy I was in love with for however many years at that point thought that way about someone like me? It hurt so much. So fucking much. But my head was so far up your perfect ass that I couldn’t see how toxic you were.”

“Percy, I-” Jason tried only to be interrupted.

“I’m not done,” he growled. “Before I met you, my mother was married to this asshole named Gabe Ugliano. Holy shit I can’t express how much hatred and loathing I have for this man in my heart. One day his poker buddies were over and my mom was at work. I got into her stuff and found this blue nail polish. I put it on and went to show Gabe because at the time I didn’t know how much of an awful person he was. He called me a faggot. I was six, I didn’t even know what that _meant_ . So he punished me by making me strip naked in front of him and his friends. They stripped naked too. He made me _touch_ them. They _touched_ me.” Percy gulped and took a few deep breaths, trying to slow his heartbeat and control the tears that were threatening to spill.

“I was _six_ when I was-” he took another shaky breath. “When I was raped. It happened twice after that. When my mom found out she called the police right away. She found me in my room looking like I was about to die after Gabe and his buddies left. Gabe got caught for my abuse and rape, my mother’s, and however many other felonies. His friends tried to run away from the police but they were eventually caught too. Gabe hung himself after a week in prison. His buddies are still in there rotting.”

Tears pooled in Percy’s eyes as he told his story. Jason was frozen in place, unable to respond. Percy’s candor was shocking and his story was absolutely horrific. They were best friends for a decade and Percy never told Jason about the skeletons in his closet.

“I went to therapy for four years. I blamed myself every _fucking_ day for what happened to me. If I never put on that nail polish nothing would have happened to me. I wouldn’t have had to been raped and then deal with all the lifelong trauma afterwards. I hated myself for being the way I was. A little more flamboyant and feminine. For finding boys cute and preferring Storm over Black Panther because of everything Gabe and his buddies said and did to me. It was when you came into my life that I began to really heal, Jason. You breathed life into my crumbling world as cliche as it sounds. I fell in love with you and I felt _okay_ with it. The thing is that falling in love hurts. It’s called _falling_ for a reason.

“When I kissed you, I felt like I had to prove something. Prove to myself that maybe you weren’t the boy I heard in the locker room. Prove to myself that Gabe no longer had a hold on me. To prove that maybe if you kissed me back you felt the same way. To prove that I could be loved. Because I deserve to love and be loved, Jason. ‘Cause _holy fuck_ do I deserve it.”

Percy wiped his dripping nose and the tears that were falling freely down his face. Jason had never seen the boy in front of him in such a vulnerable state. His heart ached. He felt like he had to vomit. It was all just too much.

“Was it stupid? Yeah,” Percy continued. “But at least I got some answers. Our friendship wasn’t going to last anyway Jason and that’s the sad truth. I couldn’t be in pain watching you with Piper anymore or hearing anything you were doing with her or hearing anything you said with your football friends. I knew I didn’t deserve to put myself through that.”

Scooping up his bag, Percy walked towards the door, stopping just before he opened it.

“Now please,” he begged, his voice cracking. Jason could hear the heartbreak. “Leave me alone.”

As soon as Percy left, Jason let the tears flow freely as sobs racked his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so that was a bit much, but it was needed to continue the story. I also get this all happened in a gym where anyone could have walked in and everything might be a bit unrealistic, uncommon or exaggerated but ya'll need to understand that these are based off characters that 1. are fiction and 2. are demigods which totally don't exist in the first place so keep that energy with Rick if you bring it here lol. See you guys soon hopefully :)
> 
> Also I've decided to name the chapters based on songs. The title doesn't necessarily need to coincide with the meaning of the song. It could be the literal meaning of the song title, or a lyric in the song, or just a concept the title presents. I'll tell you guys what they are at the end of each chapter from now on.
> 
> The title of the fiction itself is better off by Ariana Grande (also every chapter title is lowercase like her album)
> 
> Chapter 1. One Kiss- Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa  
> Chapter 2. Keep On Walking- Gabrielle Aplin  
> Chapter 3. The Crying Game- Nicki Minaj
> 
> PS wrote most of this after midnight and finished at nearly 2 AM so I apologize for the errors, I'll fix them some other time.


	4. disappear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disappear- Beyonce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't my favorite chapter I've written but I'm publishing it on the Queen Bey's birthday so it's my favorite. I had ideas but didn't feel as inspired to write even though all I wanted to do was write for you guys. So there will be some mistakes because my lazy ass doesn't read shit over and it's mad late and I'm tired.
> 
> chapter title: Disappear by Beyonce

Jason didn’t bother doing anything at the gym. It took ten minutes from the time Percy left for him to sober up and leave before someone caught him crying. He hadn’t cried in years- not since his mother died. His father always told him how men don’t cry because it showed weakness- only girls could cry. Jason, on the neverending mission to please his father, refused to show weakness. Wiping his face with the inside of his shirt, Jason walked out of the gym the same way he came in.

Rain pelted his car the moment he got in. Somehow the weather was in-tune with his feelings. Sadness stabbed at his heart; there were a storm of other emotions. Guilt gripped him like it never had before. Percy was his friend for _ten years_ and never felt comfortable enough to tell Jason of his trauma because he thought Jason would hate him? Somehow his prediction was right. Jason had hated Percy all summer. He felt violated and dirty after Percy kissed him. Yet, even in his rant, Percy was the bigger man and apologized for his actions- something Jason had been waiting for him to do. Why did it feel so awful then? Percy had dumped so much information on Jason it was too much to process. And he had a party later.

Shit.

With shaky hands, Jason started his car and began driving home. He opted to leave the radio off and sit with his thoughts in silence. When Jason got home, the first thing he did was go into his bathroom and empty the contents of his stomach even though there wasn’t much anyway. He felt sick. Sick knowing what Percy endured as a child. Sick knowing Percy lived with the trauma without telling Jason because he was scared. Sick because Percy had a legitimate reason to be scared. Jason thought of his locker room talks with the football team after practice. Usually talking about the sidechick they were cheating on their girlfriend with or some girl’s ass. He thought of all the times they said ‘faggot’. It was never in the context of describing a gay person, but describing something someone did that was stupid or uncool- out of the norm. And Jason went along with it willingly. He didn’t say as much as the rest of his team, but laughing along was just as bad. It was 20 fucking 18 and Jason didn’t have the balls to call out his friends of being bigots, so he decided to become one himself. If Jason wasn’t even partially in the right state of mind, he would have slammed his head against the toilet bowl to knock some sense into himself.

The clock on his phone read 8:31. Jason laid on in bed in his towel. After taking the time to berate himself some more and dry heave over his toilet, he took the longest shower of his life. Every inch of him was scrubbed until the skin was red. He had never felt so dirty in his life. Obviously Jason wasn’t that dirty- he didn’t even work out that day. Guilt was coating his skin. And his heart.

Piper snapchatted him and the notification appeared on his screen. Using his fingerprint, Jason unlocked his smartphone and immediately clicked on the app.

 _Which one?_ she asked in the picture of 2 outfits laying on her bed. One was a black cocktail dress, the other a flowery romper with a plunging neck line. Jason snapped a quick selfie and typed out _romper_ , proceeding to hit send. Piper opened the snap almost immediately. Within the same second she replied with a selfie of her own saying how she agreed and was impressed with Jason’s sense of fashion for once. Her next message was suggesting outfits for Jason and reminding him to pick her up at 10. Jason closed the app and headed to instagram wondering if Percy had posted since their encounter at the gym. To Jason’s dismay he hadn’t. Jason pressed the power button and put his phone at his side. Alone in silence once again with his thoughts.

Digesting everything Percy told him was difficult to say the least. More difficult: Jason swallowing his own pride and apologizing to him. For the first time, Jason felt that he was in the wrong. He broke his best friend. Percy was in love with him for years and not only did he not notice, he rubbed his relationship in Percy’s face. It wasn’t completely his fault since he didn’t know of Percy’s feelings, but knowing that he didn’t feel comfortable expressing his feelings made Jason feel even worse. Jason always prided himself on not being a cliche popular jock. He was friends or at least nice to everyone at school, and didn’t judge anyone based on race, sexuality, or socioeconomic status. Goode High was extremely diverse in all senses, especially compared to other schools in the area. It was hard to be a person that existed in that school and not accept everyone. Yet, Jason supposed he’d been doing that this whole time. Internally at least. His own inherent biases and prejudices.

Holy fuck he was a major asshole.

Jason picked up his phone and called Piper.

He was too sick to go party.

* * *

 

Instead of going to the party (which Piper was _extremely_ unhappy about), Jason changed into some underwear and sweatpants and put on Parks and Recreation on Netflix. Maybe it would make him feel better. Leslie Knope always had an infections personality and April and Andy’s relationship was probably one of the best things to ever exist.

It was past midnight when Jason’s phone buzzed.

_Text from: unavailable_

Jason’s looked at the message skeptically, debating deleting it altogether. It wasn’t often he received stupid spam texts, but something was compelling him to click on the message. Regret flooded his system almost immediately afterward. The mysterious sender had sent Jason a picture that shattered his heard in two. The picture depicted two people whose faces were obscured; Jason could identify the people in every other way. From the clothes, the heights, the hair- everything.

Piper was engaged in what seemed to be an intense liplock with Leo. His girlfriend and his best friend cheating on him. Tears began to fall from Jason for the second time that day. His thoughts raced, trying to figure out where their relationship went wrong and why Leo would make a move on his girlfriend putting all their relationships in jeopardy. It was almost sick of the universe to do. On two different occasions a kiss ruined his closest relationships. For the first time in months Jason wished Percy was next to him. Percy was always good at comforting Jason in times of need. Sick? Percy would become the biggest mother hen: he made soup, ran baths, gave Jason medicine and was at Jason’s beck and call, never once leaving his side. If Jason was sad all he’d call Percy up and Percy would drop whatever he was doing to comfort Jason. He gave the best hugs. For a split second Jason debated texting the boy asking him to come over. Would Percy even bother looking at a text from Jason? If he did, would he ignore it or straight up say no? Honestly, Jason didn’t know which option was worse. But he knew one thing: he needed to see Percy.

Jason screenshot the picture he was sent and went to Percy’s contact. Their last messages were about what candy Percy would bring to the movie marathon. Jason took a deep breath.

Almost immediately after he sent the message, Percy saw it. 3 ellipses popped up, indicating that he was typing. Then they disappeared and Jason’s heart sank.

His phone dinged.  _From: Percy_

_omw_

* * *

 

Percy was not sure what compelled him to hop in his car and begin driving towards Jason’s house. After the events that evening, Percy wasn’t sure Jason would ever talk to him again, too disgusted with Percy. It was a scenario he was fully prepared for. Jason already seemed to hate him enough so complete loathing didn’t seem too far fetched. It was completely surprising getting a text from Jason that his automatic reaction was to open the message. He expected to see something along the lines of ‘never talk or even look at me again’. What he didn’t expect to see was a picture of Leo and Piper, Jason’s _girlfriend and one of his best friends_ , making out as if Jason wasn’t even in the picture. As much as he wanted to ignore the message, he couldn't bring himself to it. Instead, he replied almost immediately saying he was on his way. Percy threw on a sweatshirt over his bare torso (he was in bed, sue him), a pair of sweatpant shorts, and some tennis shoes before running out the door. The rain had stopped hours ago, but the streets were still wet. Percy had a few close calls because he was driving so fast.

As almost always, Jason’s driveway was empty except for his own car and now Percy’s. Percy grabbed the spare key from under the mat where it usually was and unlocked the door before setting it back. He took off his shoes before padding through the house and up the stairs barefoot. Jason’s stepmother always despised shoes in the house. He got yelled so many times that taking them off became automatic. Pavlov’s Percy.

The door to Jason’s room was cracked open. Percy could hear Jason crying from the inside. He opened the door so he could fully step into the room and closed it behind him.

“Jason?”

The blonde immediately looked up. Tears silently made their way down his handsome face. Percy tried his hardest to ignore the fact that Jason was shirtless. Damn that boy had a body on him. Suddenly, Jason had his arms around Percy, clinging for dear life. His face was buried in Percy’s shoulder. Jason let out a few sobs and a hiccup. Percy wrapped his arms around Jason, squeezing him tightly. He knew Jason was experiencing heartbreak in that moment because he felt it himself in that same room only a few month prior.

“Sshhh, Jason. It’s okay,” he purred, stroking the back of Jason’s head softly. The taller boy slowly began to calm down. Percy held Jason for a few more minutes before he finally pulled away, wiping the remaining tears from his face.

“Thank you… for coming,” he said softly, looking at his feet.

Percy shrugged. “I couldn’t leave you like that. That would be a dick move from anyone.”

Jason gave a short chuckle. “Suppose so. I’m just saying I wouldn’t have held it against you if you didn’t come.”

“But I’m here so you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Thanks for coming,” Jason responded.

“You already said that.”

This time Jason shrugged. He made his way back to the bed and sat on the edge, patting a spot next to him. Percy hesitantly took the offer and sat next to Jason. Never in a million years did he think he’d be on Jason’s bed with a shirtless Jason after he kissed Jason. The circumstances weren’t ideal but Percy tried not to focus on that. He was here for Jason. Period.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“I-I just don’t get it,” Jason sighed. “They never even showed interest in each other and now they’re making out in public. He’s my best friend and I am in love with Piper and they go and do that to me? It’s so fucked up. Do you know what it’s like for the love of your life to rip your heart out?”

Percy nodded. “Yeah, I do,” he whispered. Jason realized his mistake.

“Fuck, Percy, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine, Jason,” he interrupted. “You just found out that your girlfriend is cheating on you with your best friend, I don’t expect you to be thinking straight. If you were, that would be a problem.”

“I’m still sorry though.”

“Jason, I said it’s no big deal,” he said.

Jason grabbed Percy’s hand in his, getting the boy’s attention. Green eyes met blue.

“No, Percy. I’m so _fucking_ sorry for everything you went through with your dick stepdad and everything _I_ put you through. I was your best friend. I should have noticed you were hurting. I just threw everything in your face and made you feel like shit. I’ve been ignorant to so many things. Clearly I was a shit friend. I didn’t even try to help you try to clean up your hand after you cut yourself on that glass because I was so fucking angry for no _reason_ . And I’m so sorry it took me this long to realize everything. _I just want my best friend back_.”

Percy was silent for several moments as he tried to absorb Jason’s words. Green eyes studied piercing blue ones. Eyes were truly the window to the soul. Percy could see all Jason’s grief and guilt and heartbreak. All the sorrow that he had kept bottling up over the summer had finally been released.

“I accept your apology.” Jason breathed a sigh of relief. “But I’m not ready to be your friend again.”

Jason’s eyes went wide and he immediately dropped Percy’s hand. Percy’s heart broke a little more.

“What do you mean?” he asked, half upset, half angry.

Percy gave a shaky sigh. “You broke me Jason. For the most of our friendship I kept my heart as safe as I could from you and then you put your hand in my chest and ripped it out of me. I’m still trying to rebuild it,” he explained solemnly.

Jason gave a sad nod, not bothering to reply. Taking this as a clear sign he wasn’t wanted, Percy stood up and slowly walked to the door. Just as his hand touched the handle, Jason stopped him.

“Percy wait,” he said. Percy turned around.

“Yeah?”

“Can you… can you stay here tonight? It’s just that no one else is here as usual, and I don’t feel like dealing with this alone…” he trailed off. Percy didn’t even hesitate.

“Sure, Jase.”

Jason scooted up the bed and pulled the covers down allowing himself to get under. Percy shut off the light, plunging the room into darkness besides the small light Jason plugged in near his bed. Sleeping alone in a house almost every night was scary- who wouldn’t want a little light? Percy stripped himself of his sweatshirt and crawled into bed with Jason who was facing him. Despite the circumstances, being together in bed was otherwise fairly normal for the boys since they did it so many times over the years.

Percy nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a cold hand touch his chest- right where his new tattoo was.

“You know can’t feel a tattoo, right?” he asked awkwardly. Hopefully Jason couldn’t tell that his heart was beginning to race. Maybe agreeing to stay was a bad idea. Why did he agree to stay with Jason? Oh yeah- because he could never say no to the blonde.

“I know,” Jason admitted softly. “What is it of?”

“The Greek letter Omega.”

“Oh."

For their whole relationship, all Percy could think about was how close he had gotten to Jason and how his heart was always faithful and how much it hurt. He always tried to reach for Jason, and he could always almost feel him, but then he would disappear.

Jason’s hand fell from Percy’s chest and the room fell into near silence, the space only occupied by slow breathing, lulling the boys to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot happened in this chapter but please note: just cuz they in bed doesn't mean they gonna be all fine and dandy as Percy said. Jercy still has to do a lot of healing. I'm debating doing longer chapters and less of them or 1.5k-2k chapters and more chapters. Thoughts? Thanks for all the support so far guys <3 your support keeps me wanting to write!!


	5. everytime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everytime- Ariana Grande

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In advance: I am very sorry for the weird timing within the chapter. It goes slow and fast and it's just weird. I was having writers block and felt like I was just trying to get down the words in my head but towards the end I found my footing again. Also this chapter it fairly short. It's about mightnight and I have an 8am tomorrow. I promise next chapter will be longer and we'll get some Percy POV and even a NEW POV that I might only explore once who knows. 
> 
> Chapter title: everytime by Ariana Grande

When Jason woke up, he was surprised to find someone in bed with him until he recalled the events from last night. The gym, the picture, calling Percy, him sleeping over. Although the went to bed on opposite sides of the mattress, Jason woke up spooning Percy- his arm draped across the boy lazily and his face buried in the crook of his neck. Jason didn’t know why but it felt right being with Percy. Actually it always felt right being with Percy. Throughout their friendship Percy always made Jason feel warm. Before she became an alcoholic, the best advice Beryl Grace gave to Jason was: don’t be with someone who didn’t make you feel like a better you. In every way Percy made Jason feel better. He was always happier and more confident and at peace with Percy touching him or near him. With Percy in his corner Jason could do anything. Yet, being actually cuddled next to Percy felt right. Their skin touching. Their soft breathing. It felt right. Natural. Jason pulled Percy closer, wanting to feel good for as long as he possibly could. Apparently Percy was awake and noticed.

“Jason,” he said suddenly. 

“Yeah,” Jason replied groggily. He didn’t realize how much yesterday zapped his energy.

“What are you doing?”

Jason pulled Percy closer causing him to tense up. 

“Trying to feel good,” he mumbled into Percy’s neck. 

“Can you let go? I need to go home.”

“No you don’t,” he replied. Without thinking, Jason began pressing soft kisses on Percy’s neck.

In one swift movement, Percy had twisted himself out of Jason’s grip and was standing up on the side of the bed. His chest was heaving. The morning sun glinted off of his lip ring. Jason got a good look at the new tattoo as well. As Percy said, it was an  _ Omega _ on right right peck. If Jason wasn’t occupied with an angry Percy, he might have said the raven-haired boy was hot- especially with that messy morning hair.

“ _ What the fuck was that _ ?” he asked sharply. Jason winced at the tone. Slowly, he sat up so his legs were hanging off the bed. He shrugged.

“You  _ don’t know _ ?” Percy growled. “I wake up and you’re spooning me and then you start kissing my neck? What kind of fucked up game are you playing?” Even though he tried to hide it, Jason could hear the tears start to form in Percy’s throat. 

Jason gave an exasperated sigh. “Percy why would I be playing with you? You… you make me feel good. You’ve always made me feel good.”

“How does that translate to you  _ kissing _ my neck? Did you get me here last night to play with my feelings or something? Was your apology even genuine? Or are you some sort of lizard that just needs a warm rock to rest on and figured I was the most willing one?”

Jason stared utterly bewildered at the boy in front of him as he ranted. 

“That’s it, I’m leaving.” 

Before Percy could walk a step, Jason grabbed his arm.

“Please, Perce. I’m sorry. That was stupid of me. I’m just lonely and kinda confused with the whole Piper thing. Please don’t leave me alone.”

“That doesn’t give you the authority to  _ kiss _ my  _ neck _ . Like, shit Jason, it’s as if you don’t understand my feelings or our situation.”

“I miss you Percy, that’s all. I didn’t mean to kiss your neck. But I’m not trying to get with you or anything. I haven’t even broken up with Piper yet. I just... I was confused. Cuddling Piper always made me feel better so I thought it would be the same with you.”

Percy was thoughtfully silent for a moment before speaking, completely ignoring Jason's other words. “So you’re going to do it? Break up with her I mean?”

Jason shrugged. “I dunno. I love her, Perce. Maybe it’s a misunderstanding. Maybe it’s not her in the picture.”

“Jason stop lying to yourself. It’s her. If it wasn’t I would have ignored your text.”

“Yeah, why didn’t you ignore my text?” Jason asked.

“Don’t change the subject, Grace,” Percy accused.

Jason let go of Percy’s arm and put his hands up in surrender. “I’m not. I thought you hated me. I’m surprised you showed up.”

Percy balled his fist. Something flashed in his bright eyes that Jason couldn’t recognize.

“Because, as much as I hate it, I’ll come back to you. Every time. As much as you make me self destruct, I’ll show up. Like an idiot.”

And with that, Percy was gone and Jason couldn’t even retort.

* * *

It wasn’t until after the long weekend did Jason see Percy again. Piper had asked Jason to hang out the day before school which led Jason to believe a breakup was going to ensue. Instead, Piper showed him to a new cafe that had opened up down the street from Goode. Not once did she bring up Leo. Their conversations were just as easy and comfortable as they always were. Jason began to think that maybe the picture was false or it wasn’t even Piper and Leo in it. Never in their relationship so far had Piper lied to him. She never hid anything from Jason. Jason didn’t suppose she’d hide something as big as making out with Leo from him either. Jason listened to Piper as she told him how hung over she was on Saturday. She also vowed to never drink again. Jason chuckled along.

Dread filled Jason when he got back to school. Mainly because Percy would be there. It’s not like he was in every one of Jason’s classes but seeing Percy would still be… awkward. Jason wasn’t sure there was any malice like what built over the summer after what happened on Friday. But Jason couldn’t let Percy distract him. Teachers would finally begin to give out homework and such and actually teach and Jason couldn’t afford distractions. Not to mention football practice officially started that afternoon. Colleges would begin their scouting and Jason would not let Percy jeopardize his future. 

Turns out Jason didn’t need to worry about Percy distracting him. The boy that was he slept in bed with only days earlier didn’t even acknowledge Jason’s presence. In ceramics, Percy took the furthest seat from Jason possible. Even in literature he moved his seat so that he was closer to the door and further from Jason. During lunch Jason didn’t even see where Percy was. Coach Hedge had them running laps for the week to prepare them for their mile run on Friday. Percy ran with Annabeth and Rachel in the outer lanes, making sure to stay as far from Jason as possible. Jason wasn’t sure why Percy’s behavior was bothering him so much. It wasn’t as if they had rekindled their friendship. A night together meant nothing- Percy was just being a good person. Nothing more nothing less. Something in the back of Jason’s brain told him it wasn’t so black and white when it came to his feelings with Percy.

After gym was over, Jason immediately went back to the locker room to change into his pads and jersey for football. Practices were held the last couple weeks of summer but not nice school began so this would be the first official practice of the year. Jason rounded the corner to his locker. Percy sat on the bench, pulling on the t-shirt he wore that day, then slipping his laceless shoes back on. Wordlessly, he walks away, bumping Jason’s shoulder as he did so. Unlike last time Percy tried to leave, Jason let him go and watched him as he went. 

Jeers and laughter filled the locker room as several other football players and fall-sport athletes walked in just as Percy was walking out. Jason noticed that Percy stopped when Luke walked in. They stared at each other. Even over all the noise, Jason could somehow hear what they were saying.

“Uh, hey, Percy,” Luke greeted awkwardly, rocking on the balls of his feet. Luke was normally so composed and smooth it was almost unsettling to see him act so out of character.

“Hi, Luke,” Percy replied softly. 

“You haven’t, uh, been to the barn lately,” he stuttered.

“Been busy is all,” Percy shrugged. 

“Blackjack misses you.”

A dreamy smile made its way onto Percy’s face. Jason wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen Percy make that face before. A pit formed in his gut almost instantly.

“Yeah, I miss him too,” Percy sighed.

“Well why don’t you come see him Saturday. I’m sure Grover and Juniper would love to see you too.”

Percy thought for a second. “Yeah why not?”

Luke did a mini fist pump that caused Percy to smile at his antics. 

“See you later, Perce!”

“Bye, Luke,” the raven-haired boy chuckled, making his way out of the locker room.

Luke strode towards his locker, which was right next to Jason’s, with a new bounce in his step and a wistful smile on his face. Jason watched out of the corner of his eye as Luke undressed and put on his own football gear. He followed, not wanting to look like he was totally obsessed with Luke. Something kept eating at Jason, though. He never thought Percy or Luke would acknowledge each other much less seem to have a history of some sort and a friendship. Luke was the star quarterback of the school; co-football captain with Jason. It’s not that Percy and Luke were on opposite ends of the social spectrum as much as it was that they were in different friend groups. Luke was a jock that had girls’ attention and dated around a bit (although Jason hadn’t heard of Luke being with anyone over the summer or since school started) and Percy was never the social butterfly. The only jock he hung around with was Jason. They were almost completely different. 

But then again, why did Jason care so much?

But then again, who the  _fuck_ was Blackjack? What kind of name was that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW ANOTHER WEIRD ASS CHAPTER I'M SORRY FOR BEING AWFUL. I'm getting it all (hopefully) straightened out in the next chapter or 2. I'm aiming for 1 4k-5k length chapter over the weekened or 2 2k+ chapters. We'll see. But ya'll don't even know what I have in store for some characters. Like... I am so excited you guys will be so shocked!! Sometimes messy chapters set you up for good ones. And my writers block is temporarily gone so I'll be writing whenever I have time!! See you all soon! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT SO FAR IT FILLS MY HEART<3


	6. supercut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supercut- Lorde

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is HANDS DOWN the best chapter I've written. It is just over 4000 words and I hope it gives you all the feels. I am very proud of this chapter. Ya'll could hate it more than Octavian, but I love it. I really hope you guys do like it, though.
> 
> Chapter title: Supercut by Lorde

“Gear up boys! It’s time to get out on the field and show ‘em what we’re made of!” Coach Bolick yelled to the football team in the locker room.

Friday had rolled around and it was time for the first game of the season. Everyday after school the football team practiced hard, coming together until they operated like a well-oiled machine. As the best football team in the state for the past 2 years should. Jason stepped back into his role as captain flawlessly, Luke at his side. They worked well together. Jason refused to let his relationship with Percy get in the way of what was happening. It had been years since they lost their first game of the season. This year they were planning to be state champs with a flawless record. Much of the football team were seniors. This could be the last time for a couple years that Goode High has such a good shot as a flawless season. Jason wouldn’t let his own personal feelings get in the way of that. They took four days to perfect their formations, runs, passes and anything else needed to ensure a win. The school they were playing against, St. Michael’s, was never much competition but coach Bolick had drilled into the team to never get comfortable or be complacent. It allowed others to catch up. So the team worked hard all week to ensure their win.

The team filed out of the locker room. They ran out onto the field. It was a home game and the bleachers and grandstand were filled to the brim. The visiting team had their bleachers across from the Goode High spectators. The fansection, led by the school mascot, a gladiator, was decked in orange and purple paint, clothing, and accessories and even cutouts and signs. It wasn’t too cold considering it was still early September, about 60 degrees so fairly warm for 8 at night, so several students had their bodies painted in purple and orange to spell out G-O G-L-A-D-I-A-T-O-R-S. Seeing the fansection of almost 200 students was always encouraging and always got Jason pumped up for the game. Jason caught a glimpse of his friends holding up signs for him and calling his name. He gave them a quick wave.

The anthem played (which Hazel usually sat for) and the game began. Jason was a starter, along with Luke and other seniors. By halftime, Goode was up 15 points. Coach Bolick didn’t give as much of a halftime pep-talk and he did blatantly telling them to not lose. Which was enough pep talk at the time. By the end of the game, Goode had won 36-18, Jason scoring a couple touchdowns of his own. After the game, he went back into the locker room to change with the rest of the team, everyone going who-knows-where and doing who-knows-what to celebrate. Jason on the other hand, instead of going to some party and getting shit-faced like many of his teammates, Jason and his friends had decided to go out to dinner and then have a big sleepover at Piper’s since her house (mansion) was the biggest.

“Jason!” Piper called as Jason walked out of the locker room with a duffel bag in hand. She ran over and gave in a hug and a congratulatory kiss which Jason gladly accepted.

“You did amazing!” she said when they pulled apart.

“Thanks, Pipes. Couldn’t have done it without you,” he winked, causing her to blush.

“Where are the others?” he asked, realizing that Piper was the only one there.

“We decided to get some take-out Chinese food instead so they went to go get it. You kind of smell and we didn’t want to deal with that in public,” she replied. For emphasis she waved her hand in front of her nose and made a disgusted face.

Jason laughed, playfully nudging Piper. “Oh shut up.”

They walked through the parking lot hand in hand towards Piper’s car. There were still several cars in the lot, but most people began to clear out when they realized the Gladiators had it in the bag. Which Jason didn’t blame them for. He’d want to avoid traffic too if he could. What he didn’t expect, though, was to see Percy walking through the lot with Luke. They were laughing and goofing around as they made their way to the car. Sadly, they were walking right towards Piper and Jason. Both pairs stopped in front of each other.

“Uh, hey Jason. Piper,” Luke greeted, trying to taper down his laughter. Percy was covering his mouth to hide his giggles.

“Hey Luke, Percy,” Jason replied.

“Hi,” Piper chorused stiffly. Jason realized this was the first time Piper and Percy had spoken since she learned that Percy kissed Jason.

Percy had finally stopped laughing when he greeted them. “Hey.”

Jason scratched the back of his head. Piper tightened her grip on his hand.

“So, what are you guys up to?” he asked awkwardly. Luke glanced at Percy, his smile stretching the light scar across his face, before turning his attention back to Jason.

“Going to grab some food then head back to my place. Probably watch a movie or something,” Luke shrugged.

“Oh, I didn’t know you guys were friends,” Jason said.

Percy crossed his arms. “Yeah, since the summer, actually. I got busy towards the end, though, so we didn’t hang out as much,” he explained.

Piper tugged at Jason’s arm, signalling that she was ready to go.

“Oh yeah, we have food waiting for us at home. Good game Luke,” Jason called as Piper dragged him away. But he and Percy were already back to joking around, Jason’s goodbye lost in their laughter.

* * *

 

Empty Chinese food containers were scattered on the nightstand. It was nearly midnight. The TV playing _Get Out_ was the only source of light but the sound was muted. Two bodies laid tangled in bed, a mop of black hair on the blonde’s bare chest. They talked softly, either not feeling a need to be loud or not wanting to disturb the silence throughout the house. The blonde said something causing the raven-haired boy to chuckle.

“You actually tried to _ride_ Blackjack? You know he could have done worse than buck you off,” Percy laughed.

“Well he let me get on so I figured it was a good sign! It’s not my fault he led me on!” Luke defended.

Percy sat up, putting his weight onto one arm. Luke took in the full sight of Percy’s bare torso. The thin blanket was also dangerously low that left little to the imagination. It’s not that Luke hadn’t seen Percy naked before, but he somehow just got sexier every time.

“You know he only likes it when I ride him. He has trust issues.”

“I like it when you ride me too,” the blonde said, wiggling his eyebrows. Percy’s mouth went agape and he slapped Luke hard on the arm.

“You’re such a pervert.”

Luke rubbed his arm. “I am not! I can’t help that you’re so sexy,” he pouted. Percy blushed in response.

“Tell me why I put up with you?”

“Because you find me extremely attractive?”

Percy put his finger to his mouth and pretended to think. “Hmm, I don’t think so.”

Suddenly, Luke grabbed Percy, flipping them so that Percy was on his back. Luke’s arms were on either side of Percy’s head, holding him above the raven haired boy. Icy blue eyes met sea green ones. Percy noticed how different Luke’s eyes were from Jason’s. Jason’s were a soft sky blue while Luke’s were sharp. It was like looking at crystals.

Percy remembered the first time he met Luke. He and Luke had been in the same school since elementary but never even looked at each other. The closest Percy had gotten to Luke was when he waited for Jason after football practice and they walked out together. They never said anything but Percy noticed how Luke’s gaze always lingered on him a bit longer than normal.

* * *

 

After Percy’s falling out with Jason, he decided to find some outlets where he could let off steam but also really become in tune with himself. One was the gym. Percy was at the gym every other day during the summer becoming stronger so he’d never feel weak again. Another outlet was swimming. Considering his gym also had an Olympic sized pool, it was pretty convenient for him to end his workouts with a swim or even incorporate it into his workout. Sally, the current title holder for Best Mother Ever, had given him the idea for his last source of stress relief. About a half hour from his house there was a farm called The Barn. They were known for offering riding lessons on horses, apple picking, hay rides and just about anything else. That summer they were looking for help- particularly with the horses. Since he was small, Percy always had an affinity for horses and they always seemed to like him. If his mother took him to a petting zoo the horses walked right over to him. It was quite odd but Percy didn’t mind- he loved the animals. They were elegant and free but strong and powerful. So, a week after he left Jason’s house, he drove down to the farm.

It was before the farm officially opened for business so there was no one at the counter where people would buy the produce being sold or pay for the fruits they picked. Percy figuring there must be someone near, decided to wander around until he found himself inside the stables. Several horses were behind their gates, minding their business and eating hay except one. In the back was a black stallion that restlessly paced in his area, sometimes bumping the gate in an attempt to open it. Percy walked past all the other horses to the black beauty in his sights. The horse seemed to grow more and more restless and agitated as Percy approached. It began to neigh in warning, as if saying “come any closer and I’ll run you over”. But Percy didn’t flinch. When he was about a meter from the gate the horse stuck his head out and began making sounds that sounded like he was roaring at Percy.

“Shhh, it’s okay, bud. I’m not gonna hurt you. I just wanted to say hi.” Percy spoke in a low steady tone, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. The horse began to calm down.

“What’s your name, bud?” Percy looked on the gate for the name. Blackjack. “So you’re called Blackjack, huh?”

Blackjack neighed in response. At this point the stallion was nearly completely calmed down. His head leaned out of his stable.

“Do you mind if I pet you, Blackjack?” The horse didn’t make any movement or sound so Percy took that as a sign to continue.

Slowly, Percy moved his hands towards Blackjack’s neck, keeping his palms open to show he wasn’t hiding anything. Even when Blackjack fidgeted, Percy didn’t flinch. The moment his hands touched Blackjack’s neck electricity traveled up his arm. Blackjack must have felt it too because he shuddered. Percy felt in that moment that him and Blackjack were meant to be together, like they were best friends. Percy was startled out of his thoughts by a voice.

“I don’t think he’s ever let anyone touch him.”

Percy snapped his head to the voice but didn’t take his hands off Blackjack. Standing at the doors was a boy that Percy recognized. It was hard not to with his blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and unmistakable star that ran down his face. Luke Castellan.

“Really?” Percy asked, getting over his initial shock.

Luke sauntered over until he was right next to Percy. Blackjack gave a huff of warning.

“See, he doesn’t even like us near him. So as you can imagine, feeding and washing him can be a real bitch,” the blonde chuckled, putting his hands in his dirty jeans. He wore a pair of dirty brown boots and a t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, so the arm holes went down to nearly the end of the shirt. Percy fought to not try to get a peek at his torso. If his arms were an indication to the rest of his body Percy was sure he’d need a cold shower right then and there.

Percy cleared his throat. “Why do you think that is?”

“I think his owners when he was a colt were assholes and hurt him. The original owner of The Barn, Pan, found him tied to the front gate one morning just left there. He was the last person Blackjack let near him without freaking out.”

Percy turned towards Blackjack and looked the horse in the eyes. “Ya know,” he said softly, “maybe you like me because we’re not so different, huh Blackjack?” The horse save a whinny and seemed to nod in agreement, causing Percy to laugh and stroke his mane.

Luke looked at Percy thoughtfully. He’d been watching this boy from afar since middle school. How could he not? To Luke, Percy was absolutely gorgeous with his windswept raven hair, sea green eyes and troublemaker smile. But he’d always chosen to watch from afar, never getting close enough to Percy to say anything. And when he did get close enough, he got distracted by Percy’s good looks and forgot to say anything at all. Plus, Jason always seemed to be dragging him away. If Luke didn’t know better, he’d assume the two were in a relationship. He was always somewhat jealous that Jason was able to get near Percy and he wasn’t. Him and Jason weren’t enemies, but they didn’t really associate outside of sports.

“Ya know, Percy,” Luke said finally. “I could get you a job here. I don’t see how we could turn you down considering you might be the only person in this universe able to tame Blackjack. He’s a wild card.”

Percy turned to Luke, eyes wide. “Really? You would do that? I- wait. How do you know my name?”

Blood rushed to Luke face. “I-uh, well. We go to school together don’t we? And I see you a lot after practice with Jason so why wouldn’t I know your name?” he rambled.

The raven-haired boy gave a shrug, finally removing his hands from the stallion who went to eat some hay.

“Because you’re Luke Castellan. Football protege destined for D1 greatness. We’re on opposite ends of the social spectrum,” Percy reasoned.

“That’s such a high school cliche.”

“We never talked, though. How would I know you knew my name?”

“Well how do you know mine?”

“Did you not hear when I said? You’re _Luke Castellan_. You’d have to be a hermit at Goode to not know who you are.”

“Then you should be honored I know who you are if I’m such royalty.”

“Who said you were royalty?”

With every retort they got a half-step closer to the other. Icy blue eyes locked on to sea-green. They stood chest to chest.

“Luke? Who’s this?” a new voice said. Almost instantly the two boys broke gazes and took a step away from one another. Luke was sure his heart was going to beat out of his chest.

Walking towards them was a man no older than 22 limping towards them. His skin was dark and a rasta cap covered his head, even though several black curls poked out from under the rim. His brown eyes were warm and welcoming. His smile was easy and he instantly stuck his hand out for Percy to shake.

“Um, Percy Jackson,” he greeted, taking the man’s hand.

“Grover Underwood, the owner of his fine establishment. It seems like you’ve met our favorite employee Luke here,” Grover winked at the blonde who proceeded to blush.

Grover decided to take it upon himself to show Percy around the farm and sent Luke back to work who wasn’t very happy about Grover’s decision. Grover and Percy fell into easy conversation as they toured the farm- it was as if they’d been friends for years. Grover introduced Percy to his girlfriend Juniper. She was a beautiful Latina woman who, according to Grover, made the absolute _best_ vegetarian enchiladas. She also apparently had quite the green thumb. Grover almost choked on an enchilada Juniper gave him as a snack when Percy told him that Blackjack let him touch him. Apparently Pan was Grover’s late uncle that had died a couple months back, leaving the farm to Grover. Grover, needing to see it for himself, led Percy back to the stables. With confidence, Percy approached the black stallion, putting out his hand. Blackjack stuck his head out of his box, pushing his head into Percy’s hand. Grover nearly fainted at the sight. Percy was hired on the spot (much to Luke’s joy). Luke was assigned to show him the ropes and supervise for the next two weeks.

Over the course of the two weeks, Percy and Luke grew closer. Most of Percy’s time was spent at the Barn, and when he wasn’t, he was at the gym or at home with his mother or with Annabeth and Rachel on the days he had off. Percy took a liking to Luke faster than he thought possible. Something about Luke made him feel safe and accepted. Like he wouldn’t be judged for anything. As the days went on, Percy found him opening up to Luke and vice-versa as they did chores around the farm. Luke told Percy about his estranged mother and his father that was extremely busy and had more children than one man should. Percy told Luke about Gabe which he hadn’t even told Jason about at that point. Luke didn’t even flinch as Percy told him, he just nodded and listened. When Percy was done, he said “What a capybara _cunt_ ” which caused Percy to break into a fit of laughter at the sheer randomness of Luke’s animal of choice. At the end of the two weeks, Grover told Percy he was done his training and he and Luke had the day off. To celebrate, Luke took Percy for a picnic in a secret spot he’d apparently stumbled on while horse riding.

They rode to a clearing, Percy on Blackjack, Luke on another horse named Tempest. Percy was absolutely amazed by the sight. There was even a mini waterfall. After they ate, Luke insisted they go swimming, taking off his shirt and pants until he was in his hip-short briefs. Percy fought to stop drooling over Luke’s body which was beautifully sculpted from playing sports and lifting weights for those sports. Working on the farm probably helped a bit too. Tentatively, Percy followed, stripping until he was in his own trunks. Usually he’d never feel self conscious but something about Luke made him feel that way. Luke took his hand, leading him up to the top of the waterfall. He counted down from three, grabbing Percy’s hand right before they jumped and not letting go, even when they finally game up for air. They were extremely close- close enough to feel their breath on each other.

“Percy,” Luke said. “I’ve had a crush on you since middle school. And all I want to do right now is kiss you. Can I kiss you?”

Butterflies filled Percy’s stomach. “Yes.”

Luke pulled them both underwater.

It was the best underwater kiss ever.

* * *

 

Over the summer, Luke and Percy’s relationship only got stronger. They never labeled what they were, always choosing to show their affections through their actions, whether it be roasting each other, playing pranks, or kissing. Although, Percy did make it clear his heart was healing from Jason and Luke knew to not overstep his boundaries or push Percy into saying things he wasn’t ready to say. In all honesty, Luke was just elated he could openly show Percy affection at all. One July night, they decided to take their relationship to the next level.

The Barn was closed for the week and Luke and Percy decided to go camping one night. There was one place where the forest met the beach. According to Luke, it wasn’t very popular, but Percy couldn’t see why. The lake was breathtaking. Percy was leaning against Luke after a day of swimming, watching the sun set. As the stars came into view, Luke pointed out his favorites to Percy, his favorite being The Huntress. Scientists had only found it a year prior, but Luke took a liking to it quickly. They sat in comfortable silence before Luke decided to break it.

“I like you Percy. I really do,” he admitted wistfully.

“I like you too, Luke.”

Luke captured Percy’s mouth with his. This wasn’t like their normal romantic kisses or their hot makeout sessions. It was passionate, as if Luke was pouring everything he had into it. Then it began to heat up.

Something was oddly romantic about taking each other’s virginity under the stars. Percy’s wasn’t so fond of his ass hurting the morning after, though. Luke, on the other hand, found it hilarious.

* * *

 

It was the last few weeks of summer when everything fell apart. Luke and Percy were at Luke’s house, naked and cuddling when Luke opened his stupid mouth.

“I love you, Percy.”

Percy was shocked by those words and no part of him expected them. Of course he had feelings for Luke (he wouldn’t be sleeping with him if he wasn’t), but the summer had been one of growth for Percy- coming to his own identity is every way possible. And he was still growing. He wasn’t ready for love yet- at least not the kind Luke was speaking of.

“I want to make us official before school starts. I am head over heels for you, Percy. Please be my boyfriend.”

“Luke, I like you too. I just, I can’t right now. I’m sorry.”

Before Luke could protest, Percy gathered his things and ran out the door, tears streaming down his face. Behind him, he heard the frustrated yell from Luke.

Percy didn’t go back to the Barn for the rest of the summer. He called Grover later that day, telling him that his mother needed him at home and he was sorry and to feed Blackjack an apology and goodbye donuts for him. He just couldn’t face Luke.

When school finally started, Percy avoided Luke like the plague. He never even allowed the blonde to get close. His first encounter with Luke was in the locker room as he was leaving. All the feelings Percy had been hiding bubbled back up; he couldn’t say no. Luke texted him that night and hanging out Saturday turned into hanging out after the football game but _only if Goode won_. Which they did and Percy couldn’t tell whether he was happy or sad about it. Hanging out after the game turned into joking and laughter as if Percy didn’t run out of Luke’s room only a month prior and possibly break his heart. Then laughter turned into kissing, and kissing turned into sex.

* * *

 

“Percy,” Luke said, taking Percy out of his memories. “I know it’s been a month since we’ve seen each other. You don’t need to say it back and I don’t expect you to. I’m sorry for putting you in such an awkward position that night. But my feelings haven’t changed. I am still in love with you, Perseus Jackson.”

Luke’s eyes bore into Percy’s looking for a reaction, an answer. Something. Percy’s hands traveled up behind Luke’s head, one resting on his neck and the other stroking this back of his head. Memories of their summers, laughs, kisses, sex, flashed through Percy’s brain like supercuts. Luke made Percy happier than he had felt in a while. Something was reassuring about Luke. He wasn't Jason for one. Luke wouldn't hurt him. It was as if suddenly, their summer had hit Percy full force. All his feelings poured out of his heart like lava. Percy grinned.

“I love you too, Luke.”

And he meant it.

Luke kissed Percy full force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was pretty crazy. See, Jason and Percy won't be happening for a few more chapters even though I totally could have made them happen by next chapter. Honestly I'm gonna be sad when LukexPercy comes to and end. I never see good fics of them so I'm happy to explore their relationship. When they come to an end though I promise to break your hearts :)<3 (them breaking up isn't a spoiler cuz this is a Jercy fic... I seem to like Percy with blondes tho bc my favorite ships are Jercy, LukexPercy and ApolloxPercy but people make them so.... bad and extreme).
> 
> ALSO CAN WE GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR DIVERSITY?? BLACK GROVER AND LATINA JUNIPER. WOO! WE LOVE CHARACTERS OF COLOR!! Until next time!!


	7. take a bow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Take A Bow- Rihanna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A much shorter chapter in the last one but shit goes DOWN. I think you guys will enjoy as the plot thickens mwahahahahahaaaaaaa
> 
> Chapter title: Take A Bow- Rihanna

The ride to Piper’s house was spent blasting the whole of Taylor Swift’s discography (or that’s what it felt like) with the windows down and screaming the words at the top of their lungs. Something kept Jason from completely enjoying the moment, though. Well, a few things. One was his actions towards Percy the morning after he received the anonymous text with the picture. Jason wasn’t 100% sure what compelled him to kiss Percy’s neck in that moment. Something felt so right about being with Percy that his teenage boy urges just overcame him. Hormones mixed with the emotional toll he’d been put through within hours, Jason wasn’t surprised he did what he did. He hated that part of him wish he was still doing it. And maybe more. The second was what Percy was doing with Luke and how they met over the summer. Jason was no love expert but after being in a relationship and having a girlfriend that seemed to know everything about love, he knew Percy and Luke were more than good friends. There was more to that story than they were letting on. Jason also swore he saw Luke rest his hand in Percy’s back pocket but it could also be his imagination. It caused a pit to form in his stomach. Lastly, Piper and Leo. Jason had spent the week trying to give Piper the benefit of the doubt. Neither her or Leo made it obvious that anything happened. Yet, Jason could still tell something was wrong. They both were a _tad_ bit nicer to Jason than usual. He and Piper decided to go see a movie, but couldn’t agree on which one to see. Piper conceded. Piper rarely conceded and not as fast as she did then. Leo had offered at least twice that week to give Jason’s car a free checkup and his dad’s garage. Not that there wasn’t any reason that Jason’s girlfriend and his best friend couldn’t be nice but it was too sudden and at the same time. Also, they seemed to be more irritated with each other, arguing more than they usually did. It was unsettling and Jason couldn’t shake the feeling that they _had_ kissed at the party.

Jason pulled into the large driveway of Piper’s house (mansion) with a couple other cars that Jason recognized as Annabeth’s and Frank’s. Frank’s car was to be expected but Annabeth’s was not. Since the summer, she hadn’t hung out with the gang, hanging out with Percy and Rachel (and Jason supposed maybe Luke) instead.

When they opened the door, Jason noticed there were seven pairs of shoes. One had a skull and crossbones doodled on the white toe. Nico. And where Nico was, Will followed. It was weird. Jason wasn’t sure that all of them had hung out, even before the summer. Piper led Jason into her large living room where everyone was sprawled out on different pieces of furniture and the floor. Leo, Will, Nico, Annabeth, Hazel, Frank, and Reyna all happily chatted as they ate Chinese food and pizza. The TV was playing Jurassic World. Chris Pratt was taming the velociraptors to protect the other park person (whatever his job title was). Jason remembered all the internet memes that spawned from that scene.

“Hey guys!” Piper greeted, getting everyone’s attention. They returned lazy smiles and _hey_ s and _hello_ s in response. “I hope you left some for us,” she joked, taking a seat on the empty loveseat, gesturing for Jason to join her. He grabbed a box of fried rice and a couple plastic forks, joining her on the conjoined cushions.

Every few minutes, Leo paused the movie to point out something he deemed utterly ridiculous or extremely hilarious. At some point, Nico was chasing him around trying to snatch the remote out of his hands.

“Leo if you don’t give me that goddamned I fucking _swear_ I will sneak into your house one night and slice your ears off and ship them back to the North Pole!”

Leo stopped instantly and handed the remote to Nico who took it gladly and plopped himself back onto Will’s lap on the floor, pressing play. When Leo came back in, he made sure to sit as far away from Nico as possible. Who knew a kid that was only 120 pounds could be so scary? Not that Leo could say he drastically outweighed Nico, but Nico being ghost-like with his pale skin made him even scarier.

When the movie finished, Hazel was crying into Frank about the death of the two velociraptors Jason didn’t even bother to learn the names of, Will and Nico had fallen asleep on each other, Annabeth had taken out a book Jason didn’t even know she brought, and Reyna was on her phone. Leo decided to excuse himself into the kitchen to get some more food or a drink. A minute later, Piper said she was going to the bathroom. The credits rolled and Jason wasn’t sure if he should put in his favorite movie (Superman, duh) or go check on Piper because _damn_ she was taking a long time. He decided on the latter considering Piper never took that long to pee. He excused himself, not that anyone was listening, and walked past the kitchen to get to the hall that had the bathroom. Leo wasn’t in the kitchen. Something felt wrong. He walked a little bit slower towards the bathroom, hoping to delay the inevitable. Just before he rounded the corner, he could hear two people talking in hushed voices. He stopped instantly right behind a plant.

“I don’t see why we have to tell him?” one voice said. Jason recognized it at Leo’s. He wanted to wonder who ‘him’ was and what ‘him’ would need to be told, but Jason was afraid he already knew the answer.

“Because he’s my boyfriend and _your_ best friend. We fucked up, Leo. He has a right to know,” Piper whisper yelled.

“Piper, we were drunk and we don’t even have feelings for each other, why would it matter?”

Piper gave a huff of frustration. Jason wanted to too but refrained. He wasn’t ready to reveal himself just yet.

“We made a stupid mistake and-”

“I missed my period,” she interrupted. The tension in the air was tangible. Jason’s heart stopped beating.

“What?”

“I missed my period, Leo.”

“Well that could mean a lot of things,” Leo reasoned.

“I don’t think you want to argue with six pregnancy tests, Leo,” Piper said. You could tear the tears streaming down her face and the sob caught in her throat.

Red filled Jason’s vision. Suddenly he wished that the picture was the only thing he had to worry about. Piper and Leo slept together. His best friend drunkenly screwed his girlfriend. His best friend drunkenly got his girlfriend _pregnant_ . Piper was _pregnant_ with _Leo_ ’s baby. A mix of emotions raced through Jason’s mind: anger, sadness, fear, guilt, hatred, and every other emotion someone would feel in this situation. Not knowing how to properly deal with his feelings (not that there _was_ a proper way to handle oneself after learning the two closest people to you fucked each other and cheated on you and got pregnant), Jason decided to punch a wall. Bad idea. Not only were Jason’s knuckles bleeding, Piper and Leo seemed to take notice.

They rounded the corner but Jason was already down the hall, he needed to get out of there. Jason ran (more like stumbled) out of the house as Piper and Leo called after him. This also got the attention of everyone in the living room- even waking up Nico and Will.

“Jason, stop!” Piper called. He didn’t listen. He only stopped when he fumbled for his keys. Unfortunately his hands were shaking too much to grab the right key allowing Piper and Leo to catch up. Everyone else stood on the porch, confused at what was going on.

Piper grabbed onto Jason’s arm. “Jason, please stop! I can explain!” she pleaded. Tears streamed down her face and Jason was tempted to stop.

But she hurt him. He ripped his arm from her grip.

“What the fuck is there to explain, Piper! You got drunk and fucked my best friend! You got _pregnant_ from my best friend! What else is there to explain?” Piper was at a loss for words.

“Dude, just give us a chance to talk about it. Don’t be dramatic,” Leo said, approaching Jason slowly. His anger flared.

“ _You’re_ telling _me_ to calm down after you, one, fucked my girlfriend and got her pregnant. And two, were just telling her to not tell me because _it wasn’t a big deal_. I think I have a right to be pissed off right now!” Jason shouted. He laughed, but it was humorless. "You both should take a bow because your acting skills are fucking phenomenal! This whole week I had no idea. I even brushed off a picture someone sent me of you two. Bravo, really."

“Jason, just-” _CRACK_.

He didn’t remember bringing his arm back. He didn’t remember forming a fist. He didn’t remember throwing a punch and knocking Leo to the ground clutching his (probably) broken nose as blood poured out.

“Bro what the fuck,” groaned Leo. Piper was at his side, helping him sit up. Everyone on the porch was frozen, not sure what to do.

Finally, Jason found the right key.

He pointed at Leo and Piper on the ground. “We’re done. Stay the hell away from me,” he warned, peeling off out the driveway and down the road.

After a few minutes it all hit him.

Tears flowed freely and he did nothing to stop him. Piper and Leo broke his heart and betrayed his trust. He didn’t want anything to do with them ever again.

“FUCK!” he yelled. It was the only word that could express everything he was feeling in that moment.

Without thinking, his hand moved towards his phone as the other one was kept on the wheel. He clicked on Percy’s text messages and typed out: _I need you._

Percy opened the message a moment later. Three ellipses appeared. Jason’s heart fluttered. Then they disappeared.

He wasn’t going to respond.

Somehow that hurt just as much as everything else that happened that night.

Jason pulled into his driveway, failing to notice the person sitting on his porch. He put his head on the steering wheel, gripping it tightly, sobbing until he heard a tap on his window. The sound nearly threw him out of his skin.

Rachel Dare and her flaming red hair smiled at Jason and she gestured for him to roll down his window.

“What do you want Rachel?” he asked, wiping his tears.

“I think we need to have a chat,” she smiled, seemingly oblivious to his current state.

“I’m not in the mood.”

“It’s important.” Her green eyes bore into Jason’s head.

He sighed. “How did you even know I would be here anyway? Did you walk or something? I don’t even see your car.”

Rachel shrugged. “I had a feeling. And yes, I did walk. So how about we go inside and talk?”

“Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crazyyyyyy I wonder what Rachel needs to talk to Jason about. Definitely not my fav chapter in terms of how it was written but definitely one of my favorite to write. I hope to get the next chapter out by Friday at the latest!!!! Even though it was short I hope you all enjoyed!!


	8. dont blame me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't Blame Me- Taylor Swift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever but I didn't abandon you guys! This chapter was really hard to write with crazy writer's block, especially because it's short and not much happens. Doesn't make it any less important. Thankfully, I've had time to really think about what I want to happen next. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, I'll leave a note at the end! Enjoy!
> 
> Chapter title: Don't Blame Me- Taylor Swift

Piper was undoubtedly a mess. Mess wouldn’t even describe her state at that moment. Mentally she was overwhelmed. Physically she was dead tired. Emotionally she was essentially broken. Seeing Jason leave her- the hurt in his eyes and in his voice. His heartbreak was nearly tangible. Every fiber of her being just wanted to reach out and hold him and tell him everything would be okay. All she wanted to do was kiss him and show him how much she loved him and how none of that changed. She hated herself for having too many drinks and for sleeping with Leo. She hated herself for getting pregnant. She hated herself for terminating the pregnancy. 

Piper had always been pro-choice. Why shouldn’t a woman have the right to choose? What she wasn’t aware of was the emotional turmoil and guilt that came after. She knew not every woman felt this way- a lot were probably adults that could handle this kind of emotional stress. But Piper was barely 18. It felt like as if she had already lived her full life and even died. She was thankful that her friends were there with her every step of the way. Thankfully no one at school found out about her pregnancy. They seemed to be fully aware that her and Jason were no longer an item, but the reason why was still kept under wraps. Her friends checked on her periodically. She also had begun to see a therapist twice a week. The first week she got a doctor’s note to stay home from school. Everyday a different pair of her friends came over after school to keep her company in her empty house. Frank and Hazel, Annabeth and Reyna, Will and Nico, and even Leo. Leo was just as heartbroken over her decision as she was, but he knew it was needed. Neither of them were ready to be parents, especially not with each other. And Piper wasn’t ready to follow through with the pregnancy itself. Seeing Leo that day had been hard, since she knew she took something away from him as well, but it was therapeutic in a way. Piper knew that their relationship would never be the same. Yet, it was comforting knowing that he would be there if she needed like he always had been.

Jason had been the last piece of the puzzle that Piper needed. It had been a month since she had spoken to him. There had been to texts, no phone calls, no visits, no hanging out at school. He made a point to stay as far away from her as possible in their classes. Piper was hurt by his actions but she knew why. She made a stupid mistake which led to a stupid result. There was no part of her that blamed Jason for staying away from her. She would have done the same thing if she were in his shoes. Piper wasn’t ignorant to the stares she got when Jason ignored her or they weren’t seen together the first week back after she stayed home. She also wasn’t deaf to the whispers or speculations that flew around. She simply ignored them. It’s not like these people needed to know her personal life anyway. Still, it was hard to hide the baggage she was carrying no matter how hard she tried. Throwing on sweats and crocs wasn’t uncommon for her at that point. At least the changing weather and temperature somewhat made it seem like she was just adjusting to the cold weather rather than fighting her depression and anxiety. 

It was the Friday of her first week back from school. Piper had just gotten home after dragging herself through the day. She grabbed a fruit cup from the fridge and sat down on her sofa as she turned on an episode of _Spongebob_. Was it childish? Yes. Did it take her mind off of real world traumas? Yes. Halfway into her 5th episode, there was a knock on the door. Begrudgingly she got up to open it. When she did, she was completely surprised to see who was there.

Percy stood in the doorway, one hand was in the pockets of a loud Patagonia sweatshirt that looked a size to big. The other played with his lip ring nervously. A beanie was on his head, shielding his ears from the cooling October winds. He gave Piper and an awkward smile.

“Uh, hi Piper. Can I, uh, come in?” 

“Yeah, sure,” she said after a moment. “Just make sure to take your shoes off.”

Percy took off his shoes at Piper’s request and followed her as she led him into the living room. She reclaimed her spot on the couch and Percy took a seat on the ottoman. 

It wasn’t that Piper hated Percy- she just had some resentment and anger towards him. When her and Jason began talking, all he talked about was Percy. Piper was under the impression that Jason would end up using her to help him ask Percy out. She was jealous of the attention Jason gave Percy and not her. So it was quite surprising when Jason did actually grow the balls and ask her out. Percy had been supportive of their relationship. Why would he not be? His friend was in a relationship and was happy. But Piper always sensed that he was holding back even ever so slightly. When Percy, Jason and her hung out, Piper noticed that Percy’s eyes were a little less bright. She decided to chalk it up to the fact that Percy wasn’t used to sharing his best friend which she understood. All that changed when Jason called her one night. She wasn’t expecting any calls or texts because Jason had warned her that him and Percy basically went off the grid for their movie marathon so she shouldn’t worry if she didn’t hear from him. That being said, it was extremely concerning when Jason’s name appeared on her caller ID and his first words were ‘we need to talk’ which was never good. As she drove to his house all she could think was that Percy had convinced Jason to break up with her. Piper was surprised when she walked into Jason’s room. He sat on the edge of his bed, his head cradled in his hands. Piper just barely avoided the broken glass on the ground. 

Jason spilled his guts to Piper. He recounted the night, how everything started out normal, but then things took a turn and Percy ended up kissing him. Jason insisted that he pushed Percy away instantly and yelled at him to get out because he didn’t want to jeopardize his relationship with Piper. Piper was shocked at the news at first, not really knowing how to process the fact that Percy had been gay and, even more, in love with Jason. Enough to try to break them up. Being the good girlfriend she is, Piper forgave Jason. It wasn’t his fault. Without even needing to suggest anything, Jason volunteered to essentially cut Percy off. No texts, no calls. Piper didn’t try to protest. If anything, it meant Jason wouldn’t be distracted and their relationship would grow.

So, for months, she carried a sort of resentment and anger towards Percy, which in her mind was completely justified. He attempted to sabotage her relationship with Jason because Percy wanted Jason for himself. So did she 100% glare at the raven haired boy that sat in front of her? Of course.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m here,” Percy said, avoiding Piper’s steady gaze. She gave a simple nod as a response. “I heard about what happened and I know it’s not easy.”

“And how would you know?” Piper snapped.

“Because I saw what it did to my mother,” he responded instantly, finally meeting her eyes which widened in shock. “My first stepdad was an… asshole to put it mildly. My mom didn’t, um, want a child with him. It still pained her to terminate the pregnancy. I just want you to know that I understand, Piper, and I’m here for you. I know I’m not your favorite person and gods know how much I could apologize for kissing Jason. But, I am someone you can trust if you need to vent or need a shoulder to cry on," he began to ramble.

"I, uh, I guess I should get going. You look tired,” he finished, standing up, slapping the imaginary dust off of his jeans. He made his way for the door, slipping on his shoes when Piper called for him.

“Percy, wait.”

He turned to her, a confused look on his face. “What’s up, Pipes?”

“Do you still love Jason?”

Percy’s eyes widened slightly before his eyebrows furrowed in a thoughtful manner.

“You know I’m dating Luke, right?”

“Yeah but you can still love Jason, ya know,” she quipped.

“I mean…” Percy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I was in love with Jason for most of my life. Even though I’m love Luke, something like that just doesn’t disappear no matter what. Love is kind of an addiction, you know? Once an addict always an addict. It kind of makes you crazy but I guess if love doesn’t make you crazy you’re not doing it right.” Percy ran a hand through his hair. He was rambling. “I guess what I’m saying is that you can’t blame me for still loving Jason. I always will, but I’ve moved on and I’m happier now.”

Piper pursed her lips and nodded. She understood what Percy meant and was satisfied with his answer. Love really does fuck with people’s minds. It makes them do things that they wouldn’t do if they weren’t in love.

“I’ll see you later, Pipes,” Percy said, waving goodbye.

“Bye, Percy. And… thank you for coming over and checking on me.”

He gave her a blinding smile and headed out the door to his car. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I'm sorry it's not eventful especially after I made you guys wait. The next chapter isn't as much of a filler like this one, but it isn't eventful either. It will probably be less than 2k words. BUT THE CHAPTER AFTER. WOW are ya'll in for a TREAT. Also I don't think I've established where this story is placed (correct me if I'm wrong) because I'm deciding if I want it to play into certain events. Warning: breakup soon. Chapters 10-12 are going to be a ROLLER COASTER I PROMISE!! I want those chapters to be so quality for you guys. I'm estimating that I'll be wrapping up this fic by chapter 16 at the earliest. Possibly 18-20 if I want to add an idea that I scrapped because it might be too extra (it's not the most extra thing, but it would be the straw that breaks the camel's back). We'll see. Thank you for all your support so far <3
> 
> ALSO I have an idea of the fic I want to do after. It's another Jercy fic (sue me. We need more Jercy). I've been outlining it as I dealt with my writer's block. Here's a shitty summary if you're interested, there are vampires and vampire hunters. Jason has been raised his whole life to hunt vampires and he's a freaking good hunter. He's a senior in HS (duh cliche asf) and there's 3 new student (Percy Thalia Nico) appear. Zeus Poseidon Hades are the Big 3 (the original vampires). Jason's dad wasn't Zeus but someone else so him and thalia are still half siblings cuz they share a mother. Jason on the hunt sees a vampire but it turns out to be Percy. Blah blah blah, drama, blah blah blah, crises, blah blah blah they fall in love. Cool, right?? Tell me if you'd be interested in something like that.


	9. ocean eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ocean Eyes- Billie Eilish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, I'm back. Hello everyone I've missed you <3 I don't think I delivered exactly what I promised this chapter but, wow, next chapter. I'm promising right now 3k words minimum. 6k max. I'm aiming for the happy medium. Thank you all for being patient with me. I know you say my updates are fast compared to others but I feel like I'm not giving a lot with each update but maybe that's just me. Thank you for all the support, enjoy the story. Feel free to peep the notes at the end you might want to see <3

Jason knocked on the door to Percy’s house. It was a crisp morning in October. The leaves had finally begun to change colors and fall off their trees. Some people even had begun to put Halloween decorations out even though they had nearly the whole month to go until the holiday. Halloween was just one of those holidays that people were always excited for no matter the time of the year. Jason saw more countdowns to Halloween than he did for Christmas. As the blonde teen waited for the door to open, he stood on the porch and thought about why he was there.

It had been about a month since he last talked to Piper. It had also been about a month since Luke and Percy walked into school hand in hand. Jason’s heart clench seeing them together. He figured it was because he knew him and Percy would never be able to rekindle their friendship and it hurt Jason to see Percy with someone else. He also chalked it up to the fact that he was extremely lonely without Piper. Every fiber of his being wanted to run back to her and forgive her and act like nothing happened. Yet, he almost felt _content_ not being with Piper anymore. It was as if they were puzzle pieces that were forced together because they looked like they would fit, and then you realize they didn’t. Rachel’s visit had also helped calm him down a lot. He kept thinking of the words she said as a sort of mantra when he felt overwhelmed by his own emotions: _Everything is going to work out. Your happily ever after is closer than you think. Be patient. Look out for ocean eyes._ Rachel didn’t seem to be saying those words just to comfort a distraught Jason. That’s what any normal person would do. Rachel, on the other hand, seemed extremely assured in herself as if she had a vision of it happened. But knowing that she somehow knew Jason would be in his car crying and knew what Piper did and their whole situation (to a degree. She had drawn some vague pictures which _majorly_ creeped Jason out) made him confident in her words. During their whole conversation, though, Rachel seemed like she kept holding something back from Jason. Before she left, she gave Jason a blue pen and told him to save it for a study date.

For the duration of the month, he spent avoiding Piper and Percy seemed to be avoiding him. Whenever Piper caught his eye he turned away or fled all together. He wasn’t ready to speak with her yet. Honestly he wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to contain his anger. Or sadness for that matter. Either he’d yell at her or burst into tears. No part of him wanted to kiss her, though. As much as he wanted to be with her, he never felt the urge to be _romantic_ with her. Jason almost laughed at how fucked up that was- getting your heart broken so bad that every romantic and sexual feeling you had for a person disappears. And probably has no chance of returning. Thankfully his friends hadn’t completely ditched him. They kept him informed about Piper, especially when she had her abortion, and how she was doing, and Jason was grateful for that. He knew how hard of a time she would be going through and Jason didn’t want to make it harder by going to see her and not giving her the kind of support she’d want from him. Jason also wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle sharing her grief. If anything, it was Leo’s duty to bear half of it.

Percy was just as subtle as Jason when it came to avoiding him as he did to Piper. Whenever Percy saw Jason he’d turn away or flee from the scene. If Percy was with Luke he’d grab Luke’s hand or pull him a little closer and go back to ignoring Jason’s heavy gaze. Even when Percy looked away, Jason couldn’t bring himself to do the same. He missed Percy dearly. After he broke up with Piper, Jason learned how dependent he was. Percy was his rock for a decade and then Piper was for several months. It was the first time in a majority of Jason’s life that he was alone. So when Mr. Brunner had paired them up as project partners, Jason could barely hide his excitement. He’d be back with his best friend again. Jason was determined to rebuild the bridge me burned. The thought of being with Percy again, of Percy being is, warmed Jason. _His_. He almost stumbled when he realized he thought of the word. Why was he so possessive of the raven-haired boy? What made him so entitled that he wanted Percy to be his?

They had scheduled a Saturday morning the day after the project was assigned. Jason was notorious for wanting to create schedules and have a timeline of when to work on projects or extended assignments when he had them. Knowing how busy his life was between school and sports, procrastination was a risky game to play. Percy had begrudgingly agreed and invited Jason over to his house at 11 am so that they could work and then have a lunch break. Yet, Percy wasn’t opening the door and it was 11:03. Jason opened his phone, intending to text Percy that he had arrived only to see a an unopened text from yesterday. It was sent after midnight, so Jason was definitely asleep.

_mom and paul had errands to run and im not sure if ill be awake tho so the door is unlocked for when u get here_

Jason berated himself for not checking his texts that morning. He would have been out of the cold much sooner if he did. It only takes 21 days to develop a habit and it had become a habit over the month for Jason to detach himself from his phone. He didn’t want to see whatever Percy was tweeting or instagramming about him and Luke, and he didn’t want to be tempted to text Piper. Opening the door, Jason walked in the cozy house, taking off his shoes and closing the door behind him. The bottom floor was empty, aside from a note that Sally had left for Percy to clean up before Jason arrived (which, seeing by the mess, he didn’t). Jason figured Percy probably wasn’t awake and decided to take it upon himself to wake the boy up. He walked up the stairs, bag slung over his shoulder, making his way to Percy’s room.

Big mistake.

Without knocking, Jason turned the handle and opened the door.

“Perce, wake up we have-” he stopped short by the sight in front of him.

In front of him was a sight Jason wished he could erase from his moment. In the moment, all he wanted to do was spontaneously combust from embarrassment. Both Percy and Luke were in very compromising positions and in very little clothing. Luke’s shirt was off, revealing his muscular body from years of sports and lifting weights. His underwear was pooled around his ankles. The only semblance of coverage he had was Percy whose head was between the blonde’s legs, bobbing up and down in a very suggestive manner (Jason wasn’t sure he’d ever get the sound of Percy sucking or Luke’s moans out of his head _ever_ ). Luke’s hand was gripping Percy’s hair and his other was keeping him propped up. Percy was on his knees in only his tight briefs that showed off his ass nicely. He was half bobbing his head up and down, half at the mercy of Luke grabbing his hair and face-fucking him. That was, until Jason ruined it.

Percy’s mouth flew off Luke’s dick to turn to see Jason in the doorway, eyes wide, unable to move. Luke’s hands flew to his crotch in hopes to hide his hard appendage (thankfully Jason saw none of it). Each boy was equally as mortified as the last as they stood in their spots, too stunned to say anything. Jason, after several moments of shock later, got ahold of his bearings, which was mainly due to the fact that he could feel a tent beginning to grow in his own pants and didn’t want to stay for it to become extremely obvious and make the situation even worse. Quickly, he shut the door and ran downstairs to the nearest bathroom, needing to relieve himself immediately. It didn’t take long for Jason to finish with the urgency at which he stroked his cock and the image very clear in his mind. _I wonder what Percy’s lips feel like around-_ Jason’s thoughts were cut short as he released into his hand, biting his lip to suppress a groan of pleasure. He took a few deep breaths, coming down from his high. Jason wasn’t sure why he was so turned on by the situation but chalked it up to that he was presented with external stimuli that would bring arousal. _Simple as that_ , he told himself. He grabbed a couple tissues on the counter and cleaned himself up, then zipped up his pants and washed his hands.

When Jason exited the bathroom Percy was trotting down the stairs- this time fully clothed. He stopped short when he saw Jason.

“I, uh-”

“Sorry for walking in on you,” Jason mumbled, cheeks turning red.

Percy gave an apologetic smile, walking down the last few steps so he was face to face with Jason.

“I mean, it’s not all your fault,” he said, scratching the back of his head. Jason noticed the couple hickies forming on his neck. “I totally forgot we were working on the thing today. I didn’t mean to scar you.”

“Yeah, well, too late for that.”

Percy gave Jason a funny look before bursting out laughing, which Jason eventually joined in on. Laughter was known to be contagious but something about Percy’s laugh was just so euphoric and full and honest that is made anyone within earshot to be able to feel whatever Percy was feeling on the same exact wavelength. Since they were younger, Percy had always been able to make Jason feel better by laughing. It was an odd feeling. One moment he’s really angry or really sad, and the next, it’s like he was filled with pure happiness. Just from Percy’s laughter. His laugh wasn’t funny in of itself- just extremely pure. It was one of the reason’s Jason loved him.

As a friend of course.

“Ah, shit,” Percy giggled, wiping the tears from his eyes as he attempted to sober up. “I can’t believe you saw me with my head between Luke’s legs.”

“Yeah, I can’t either. I’m gonna pretend that it was a dream,” Jason concluded. His laughter had died down significantly.

Percy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Oh, so you dream about me now?”

“No,” Jason swallowed. “Uh, where’s Luke?” he asked.

“Showering away the embarrassment of his co-captain seeing him getting head by said co-captain’s ex best friend.”

Jason almost immediately looked at his shoes. He didn’t need the constant reminder that he lost his best friend. Over the last month, Jason had a lot of time to think. One of the things he concluded was that he was also at fault for the falling out between him and Percy. He shouldn’t have been as forceful with Percy as he was. He didn’t even care that Percy cut himself on broken glass as a result from Jason’s reaction. Jason also regretted not reaching out and asking if Percy was okay. He had let his best friend carry the equivalent of the weight of the sky on his shoulders for their friendship. Loads only feel heavier the longer you carry them. Jason should have been more sensitive to the situation. Maybe if he had been his life wouldn’t be the mess that it was in that moment.

“I’m really sorry, Percy,” he whispered.

“For what,” replied the green-eyed boy. Confusion was evident in his furrowed brows. Something told him that Jason wasn’t talking about the incident minutes earlier.

“For being the reason we aren’t friends anymore. I just… I acted so irrationally. I had no concern for your feelings. I didn’t even care that you cut yourself. What kind of friend was I?”

A hand was placed on Jason’s shoulder causing him to look up. Percy held up his other hand, palm spread. There were a couple scars but they were no longer than a centimeter. A soft smile appeared on his face.

“If you didn’t notice, Jason, I healed. Now, how about we work on the project, yeah?”

And as much as Jason tried to deny it, deep down, part of him was falling for those ocean eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that just happened. Lots of stuff crammed in but in my head it made sense, ya know? Like, Jason consciously isn't aware, but it's definitely there. Expect another time skip, I'M BRINGING HALLOWEEN EARLY TO YALL!! 
> 
> Also, I made a choice: my next fanfic will not be a story. I want to make Jercy one-shots based on different songs people submit, cuz I clearly love music (I promise my taste isn't as shallow as it seems). I think it would definitely help hone and help me develop my writing skills. So, when this is done, keep an eye out for the first one-shot and have some songs in mind you might want to see Jercy style ;) And depending on how I decide to end this, I might do a sequel. It wouldn't be as long, 6-8 chapters less than 2k words each. But even if I do a sequel, it's coming after the song fic. WHATEVER my next chapter fanfic will be, I want to put effort into it that you guys deserve <3 until next time!!


	10. goodnight and go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodnight and Go- Imogen Heap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I'm back. Just over 5500 words for you guys. I really hope they are worth the wait. I won't keep you waiting any longer. See you at the end :)

Halloween. Not necessarily Jason’s favorite holiday but definitely his least favorite. As a whole, it just seemed fairly pointless. As if other holidays didn’t allow you to get candy and at  _ any _ age for that matter. Also, dressing up in costumes had a whole different meaning the older you got. When you’re small, it’s to look cute, when you’re a preteen it’s to scare your friends, and when you get older it’s really just to flaunt your assets. Yet here Jason was, looking in his full body length mirror as he checked himself out in his costume getting ready to go to Drew’s annual Halloween party. Reyna had  _ somehow _ convinced him to go- how they did was beyond him.  _ Percy’s gonna be there _ he remembered Reyna saying. Jason ran a hand down his face. How she knew that would convince him, he had no idea. He wouldn’t admit  _ why _ that was able to convince him, though.

For a good chunk of October Jason and Percy had worked on their AP Literature project. Under normal circumstances, the project could have been done within a couple weekends. It wasn’t that the project was difficult and was taking ample time to complete, it’s the fact that whenever they tried to work, nothing got done. Jason felt as if they had fallen into their old habits as if they were friends.

* * *

 

_ One week after walking in on Luke and Percy, Jason was back on Percy’s porch, waiting for the raven-haired boy to open the door. He would  _ not  _ make the same mistake of walking in unannounced again. Jason winced, thinking about the glare Luke gave Jason when he finally came downstairs. Thankfully football practice wasn’t as awkward. Jason wasn’t sure he’d be able to effectively play his role as captain if Luke was staring daggers at him every practice. The trio seemed to have put the incident behind them much to Jason’s relief. It was like it had never happened. Jason pretended it didn’t. Whenever he thought about it, there was a knot that formed in his stomach and blood began to rush where he preferred it not to. As vehemently Jason continuously made excuses for what he felt whenever he thought back to seeing Percy between Luke’s legs, he couldn’t deny that there was a twinge of jealousy that he wasn’t in Luke’s position. Percy was objectively good looking. Any girl or gay, straight or not, could see that. His tattoos, windswept raven hair, his beautiful sea green eyes and troublemaker smile, and even his lip ring. But Jason’s feelings about the incident went deeper than simply acknowledging Percy’s attractiveness. Whenever he saw Luke and Percy in the halls or lunch or in the locker room exchanging quick kisses, holding hands, or any PDA at all, Jason had to turn away and swallow the lump in his throat. It would be a lie to say it didn’t bother him. _

_ Percy jolted him out of his thoughts by opening the door, a shit-eating grin on his face that was so contagious Jason couldn’t help by respond with one. It was a warmer day out (probably global warming) so Percy was dressed in a light sweatshirt and jean shorts. _

_ “Welcome back,” he smiled. He opened the door wider. “Please come into my humble abode.” _

_ Jason laughed as he followed Percy as he padded barefoot on the hardwood floor. Jason took of his sneakers at the door and followed Percy in his socks. As they went farther into the house, Jason was assaulted by a heavenly smell. _

_ “Cookies?” he asked, mouth nearly watering. _

_ “Blue chocolate chip.” Of course. “Mom’s in the kitchen making them. Actually, they should be just about done.” _

_ True to his word, Sally Blofis was just closing the oven, a tray of blue cookies in her oven mitt. She set them on the table gently and proceeded to put another batch in, setting the timer for the time needed for them to bake. _

_ “Hey mom, look who’s here.” _

_ Sally looked up, a small smile appearing on her face. She was an essentially flawless woman. Despite her age (not saying she was old) her eyes were still young. The only indication of her age were the smile lines around her eyes as the light gray roots that faded into her thick brown hair.  _

_ “Jason!” she said, walking over to the boy for a hug. Jason returned it gratefully. He never realized how much he had missed Sally. For 10 years she was essentially his mother figure. So much so that Jason had begun calling her mom. He wasn’t sure if that would still fly after everything that happened over the summer. _

_ She pulled back, holding Jason at arms length and giving him a once-over. “It’s so good to see you, it’s been to long. You look good.” _

_ Jason couldn’t help the light blush on his cheeks and smiled softly. “Yeah, it has. It’s good to see you too, Sally.” _

_ “I thought you called me mom,” she teased. Jason almost instantly looked down guiltily.  _

_ “I- I don’t think I deserve that right now. I haven’t exactly been the best friend to Percy,” he admitted. Sally shook her head. _

_ “Jason, I may not be happy with how you treated my son, but that is in the past. From what I hear you’ve learned and you obviously feel remorseful. I don’t hold anything against you. And no matter your relationship with Percy, I’m always here for you.”  _

_ Sally pulled Jason into another hug, squeezing him tight. Jason hid his face in her shoulder. Sally wasn’t a short woman but Jason’s 6’1” figure definitely dwarfed her 5’7”. He tried to hold back his tears. It had felt like years since he last hugged Sally and he never realized how much he needed her hugs. They had the ability to heal- like Percy’s laughter. _

_ “Percy I  _ know _ you are not trying to steal a cookie right now,” Sally said without breaking her hug with Jason. She wasn’t even facing the table. _

_ “I am no- shit that’s hot!” Percy yelped. Sally and Jason separated and laughed at Percy who was running his burned tongue under cold sink water. _

_ Percy and Jason didn’t get much of their project done that day. Rather, they spent the day catching up and making fun of Percy who was not so happy about being the target of the jokes. At some point, Paul joined the trio, finally home from watching over Saturday detention. He was surprised to see Jason there but very easily joined the conversation, although, Jason caught the few skeptical looks he was thrown by Paul. Not that he minded- Percy’s step dad had every reason to be a little suspicious. But also Jason didn’t care. It was the first time in a while he felt at home. _

* * *

 

Jason took a picture of him in his costume in the mirror and sent it to Reyna on snapchat. She responded almost immediately with a picture of her own costume. She was dressed as Katniss Everdeen, her dark hair braided over her shoulder, and clothes almost identical to what she wore in the movie. She even had a Mockingjay pin. The snap said  _ looking good superman ;) _

He almost scoffed at the compliment but did a once over of his costume regardless. He was, in fact, dressed as Superman. His suit reflected Henry Cavill’s. It was dark with a long cape that touched the ground. It was also extremely form-fitting. Jason wasn’t sure about how comfortable he was with how clearly it showed off his muscle- not to mention the extra emphasis it put on his package. That was expected of an adult Halloween costume he supposed. Though, it didn’t make him any more comfortable. Jason had to laugh at the irony of the costume.

* * *

 

_ Jason was sitting on the floor of Percy’s room, several papers, a computer, a tablet, a notebook and writing utensils scattered around him. Rarely would anyone see Jason in such a disorganized environment. He typically only got this way when he was running out of time for an assignment- hence why it was rare. Jason never procrastinated. _

_ Percy was definitely rubbing off on him. _

_ There had been 10 different days after his second visit that they attempted to get the project done. Jason had initiated nearly all of their meetings. They truly didn’t need to meet as many times as they did, especially because whenever they met they accomplished next to nothing. Truthfully, Jason enjoyed his new found friendship with the boy. Finally they were achieving a sense of normalcy. There were times that Luke was also around but he didn’t seem to mind. He gave the two their space to work and usually went to the living room or watch TV or was in the kitchen with Sally. Having Luke in such proximity outside of football practice was weird. And despite his amicable behavior, Jason sensed a sort of animosity towards Jason. He caught the couple sideways glances Luke threw no matter how discreet. Jason didn’t blame him. The boy that your boyfriend was in love with for 10 years is suddenly back in his life and there is a fear that you might lose him. Jason also wasn’t 100% sure part of him would be upset if Luke and Percy did in fact break up. _

_ It was becoming hard to deny his feelings for Percy- no matter how small they were. There was  _ something _ there. Percy always made Jason feel good. He was always able to cheer him up. Whenever Jason was with Percy there was a warm feeling in his chest. It was as if Percy made him feel complete. And a lot less lonely. When Percy went from best friend to enemy to a crush Jason did not know. Tom Haverford would insist that love and hatred are very similar emotions. Jason knew he didn’t hate Percy. _

_ “You good over there, Jason? You were working and then you kinda stopped,” Percy asked, jarring Jason from his thoughts. The blonde nodded as he regained his bearings. _

_ “Yeah just thinking,” he mumbled, still partially lost in his dwellings. _

_ “About…” Percy prompted. _

_ Jason bit his lip. His tongue feeling the small scar in the corner from when he attempted to eat a stapler. Bad idea. _

_ “It’s just…” he hesitated. “Nothing.” _

_ Percy gave Jason a skeptical look but let it go. _

_ “Whatever you say, Jase.” _

* * *

 

There was a beep from outside signalling that Reyna was there to pick Jason up. Jason grabbed his phone and headed out the door. He would have brought his keys but with a tight suit and no sort of pockets he probably would have lost the key. So, he put a spare under the a plant on his porch. 

“Ready?” she asked when Jason closed the door.

“Yup.”

The ride wasn’t that long. It was after 11 pm and most people were in for the night so Reyna didn’t need to worry about dodging any kids running across the street. One year she had almost ran over a kid dressed as a squirrel and made him roadkill instead. 

The party was in full swing. It was a relatively warm night out (once again, global warming) so there were people outside and inside. The costumes were also a lot more revealing since people didn’t need to worry about covering up for the cold. Jason caught a glimpse of some guy running around in only his underwear with a dunce cap. It was an image Jason really wished would leave his head but probably never would. Reyna parked soon after, joining the throngs of cars that were parking in the driveway, on the street, and even the lawn. How the cops hadn’t already shut down the party was lost on Jason, but he attributed to the fact that Drew was rich and her daddy basically own the police department. Cops always seemed inherently corrupt no matter where you were.

Exiting the car, Jason and Reyna made their way across the yard into the house ( _ mansion _ ) where their friends were apparently already waiting for them. Girls ogled Jason, admiring how nicely his suit clung to his body and emphasized every muscle and bulge. There was a feeling of self consciousness within Jason but it was accompanied by confidence. Something about being able to draw the attention of the girls like he was (read: more than usual). Partygoers briefly stopped what they were doing for the split second that Jason walked by. Jason smirked when he heard a girl whisper ‘ _ Henry Cavill? I don’t know him _ ’, parodying the Mariah Carey meme. Reyna led the duo further into the house. She clearly wasn’t as attentive to the stares as Jason was but he supposed that not everyone was staring at Reyna. She was a beautiful girl but her costume was more practical instead of a display of her body.

Just as she liked it.

Finally, they reached their friend group which seemed to have taken refuge in the kitchen. All of them were in a costume. Frank was dressed as a gladiator, his large arms on display. Hazel, who was leaning on his arm with a cup in her hand was dressed as a witch. Her normally short legs were accentuated by her high high boots and short skirt. Leo was dressed as a fireman. His jacket was unbuttoned to reveal his tanned, scrawny chest. Although the girl next to him didn’t seem to mind. Jason recognized her from school but didn’t know her name. She wore Leo’s hat but was dressed in a white chiton. Fitting for a girl who looked just as beautiful as a Greek goddess. Jason wondered if Leo had drugged her or blackmailed her into flirting with him.

Annabeth wasn’t normally one known for going to Halloween parties, so Jason was surprised to see her there and dressed up as a semi-sexy librarian. Her nose was buried in a book, though, and Jason concluded that she was probably dragged to the party and needed an excuse to not interact with anyone. Rachel was next to her, laughing with Will and Nico. Rachel was dressed in probably the most fitting costume for her: Merida. Her fiery red hair and freckles were nearly and exact match. From what Jason could hear from her conversation she was also copying the accent. Will had his arm slung over Nico’s shoulder. He was dressed as a surgeon in scrubs. Nothing too fancy. Jason wouldn’t have been surprised if Will owned them before the party. Nico had on a shirt that read  _ NORMAL PEOPLE SCARE ME _ and had on skull makeup. Jason recognized the American Horror Story character he was portraying. He noted Piper’s absence but remembered how Reyna told him that she wasn’t feeling up to party. Jason didn’t blame her.

Jason admired all of his friend’s costumes. Each one was well thought out and seemed to capture them in some way or another. But his heart nearly stopped when he saw Percy. He realized it was the first time he saw his whole friend group together, including Percy, since the end of their junior year. Jason also realized it was the first time he saw Percy in such a sexy costume. Percy was never one to shy away from Halloween, but his costumes were either scary or simple and practical. Ones that could either be bought in a store or found in your closet with a couple exceptions. Yet, here Percy was looking as sexy as Jason had ever seen him. He was dressed as Aquaman. And  _ damn _ it was a good costume. His green pants were tight and looked scaley- probably made out of the same latex type of material Jason’s was made out of. His gold boots came up to his knees. Jason had to keep himself from eying the raven-haired boy’s crotch that was on display. His gold held that had the Aquaman’s symbol in the middle separated his pants from his naked torso. Jason was half convinced the universe was getting back at him. Dangling Percy in front of him looking extremely delicious and completely off the menu. There was a green necklace that contrasted his tan skin but complemented his eyes around his neck. There were two golden vambraces around his forearms and a piece of shoulder armor on his left shoulder that was held by a strap that went diagonally around his chest. 

And Luke was nowhere in sight.

He stood, oblivious to Jason’s presence, with a bottle of water in his hand, scrolling through his phone. The rest of the group waved at Jason or said a greeting but Percy didn’t seem to notice. Not that Jason blamed him- the music was pretty loud and if you weren’t paying attention you probably would be oblivious to the world around. So, taking advantage of the situation, Jason approached the raven-haired boy until he was standing right over his figure that was leaning against the counter.

“Hey, Perce,” he greeted. Percy nearly got whiplash from how fast his head snapped up to meet Jason’s eyes. Jason wasn’t oblivious to how Percy took a solid twenty seconds to check him out.

“Wow,” he said breathlessly. “I mean… uh, hey Jason. Good costume you got there.” Blood rushed to Percy’s face, turning the tan skin a tinge of red.

Jason chuckled. “Yours isn’t too bad either, Perce. Never thought I’d see you in something so revealing.”

Percy crossed his arms over his chest self consciously. Jason suddenly appearing was throwing off his game. Since the beginning of the school year Percy was able to keep himself under control with Jason in public situations. Today was not that day though. It didn’t help that Jason’s costume was extremely well fitting and left little to the imagination even though he was completely covered. Percy had seen Jason’s naked ass so there  _ really _ wasn’t much left to wonder about. And Percy was used to mulling over what what Jason was packing. Being in love with someone for 10 years, especially while going through puberty and being a hormonal teenager does that to you. A pang of guilt went through Percy’s heart as he realized how he was mentally undressing Jason while Luke was somewhere in the house getting a drink. 

“No need to be self conscious, man. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” Jason took Percy’s arms and uncrossed them. Electricity ran up Percy’s arm, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he stood there as Jason held his forearms and stared deeply into his eyes.

“Hey, Perce, I grabbed you another water. I figured you’d be done yours by now.”

Instantly Percy tore himself from Jason’s grasp and broke gaze with him. Jason turned around to see Luke walking towards them with a red cup in one hand and a water in the other. He wore a caveman costume in tiger print- one of his pecs was hanging out. Anger quickly passed through Luke’s eyes when he saw Jason’s proximity to Percy, but he covered it up with a smile.

“Sup, Jase?”

“Sup, Luke,” Jason grumbled. 

Luke walked over to Percy, handing him the new water and capturing his lips in a deep kiss. Percy begged to every and any god to smite him in that very moment. Here was his current boyfriend, kissing him deeply, and he was more interested in what Superman was doing only a foot away.  _ Wait _ , Percy thought.  _ Since when did I start caring about Jason again? _ Or maybe the better question was why Jason was suddenly so interested in him. He could feel Jason’s eyes on him as he kissed Luke. Percy wasn’t sure if he was being hyper aware about the situation or not.

So he decided to do a test.

Right before Luke pulled away, Percy wrapping his arms around the blonde’s neck, pulling him closer. Automatically Luke’s mouth allowed entrance. His hands moved to Percy’s ass. When they finally pulled away Luke had a dopey grin on his face. Percy risked a quick glance at Jason. Hurt was evident in his eyes and the jealousy radiating off of him was palpable. The question, though, was  _ why _ . Last he checked Jason was straight and getting over his girlfriend getting pregnant by his best friend. Never had she showed any interest in Percy in a romantic sense. Their friendship was just getting back on track dammit. 

“Uh, hey Luke. How about you go have fun? I’ll meet you later and please don’t drink too much. Keep drinking water,” Percy instructed. Jason was shocked by the mature role Percy easily stepped into. With a dopey smile, slightly intoxicated from alcohol and the kiss, Luke gave Percy a sloppy kiss on the cheek, a mumbled ‘ok’ and exited the kitchen. 

Percy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and turned towards the Superman in front of him. There was irony in the fact that Jason was dressed as the hero. Every time Percy referred to him as such Jason got annoyed- apparently Superman was  _ totally _ overrated (which is totally true. More Wonder Woman, less Superman). Jason had a look of relief once Luke left and visibly relaxed. Clearly he was just relieved to be out of an awkward situation. Right?

“So how have you been?” Percy flinched when he heard his voice crack. How embarrassing.

“I’ve been good, you?” Jason replied just as awkwardly.

“Good.”

A moment of silence.

“So who dragged you here? I know you’re not a Halloween person.”

From there, the duo lapsed into a comfortable conversation as the party raged on around them. Their friends had cycled out of the kitchen a while ago but neither of them noticed- too enveloped by each other. It was just so natural. They were two pieces of a puzzle that fit together. That had always been the case, though. Since the beginning of their friendship Percy and Jason had been two sides of the same coin. They were nearly opposites in looks and personality; it seemed to serve them just fine. They only paused in conversation when Jason’s phone buzzed in his hand, signalling that he had a text. His clock read 12:03. Him and Percy had been talking for nearly an hour.  _ Ice is in the bottom drawer of the freezer :) _

Jason paid little attention to Rachel’s ambiguous text and put his phone back to sleep, re engaging in conversation with Percy. At some point a few minutes later, Percy figured it was time to find Luke. Jason offered to help since he had nothing better to do and didn’t know where the rest of their friends were anyway. Also, as he trailed behind Percy, he got the best view of the tight latex showing off the raven-haired boy’s toned ass. Sadly, Jason’s view was interrupted when he suddenly saw stars. There was a pain in his body as he hit the floor and a deep pain in his left cheek.

“ _ Luke! What the FUCK!? _ ” Percy yelled. Jason’s eyes snapped open to see the blonde standing over his body, seething. Percy was trying to pull him away but wasn’t succeeding. And Luke was very clearly drunk. “Why the hell did you do that!?”

“He was checking out your ass,” Luke slurred. “He was flirting with you all night.”

“No he wasn’t,” Percy argued. Though, you can’t exactly argue with someone who was intoxicated. Percy managed to pull Luke a bit away from Jason which allowed him to get up and regain his bearings.

“You were flirting too. Have been for a month now,” Luke accused. Percy’s mouth opened and closed like a fish but he couldn’t respond. Jason kept a small smile off his face. If Percy had been flirting all night that meant he was interested. Hope flickered in Jason’s chest. Maybe he  _ would _ be able to make everything up to Percy.

“We’re leaving, Luke. You’re drunk.”

Before he could protest, Percy was pulling the drunk caveman out of the party, away from the confused eyes of the party goers. Fights weren’t uncommon at Drew’s parties, though, so no one really bat an eye. He glanced at Jason but could only blush when they made eye contact. Suddenly, the pain on Jason’s cheek grew deeper.  _ Ice is in the bottom drawer of the freezer :) _

Upon getting to the kitchen and opening the freezer, Jason could confirm that Rachel hadn’t been lying. It wasn’t weird that she knew where the ice was- maybe she put it there. But how did she know he would need it? Jason didn’t bother trying to figure it out as the cold sting of the ice touched his broken skin. He knew he hated Halloween for a reason.

* * *

 

Loading a drunk dude that was mainly muscle was a lot easier than Percy expected. Luke, for one, wasn’t completely drunk. He was able to get inside the car and buckle himself in. All Percy had to help him with was keeping him from falling as he stumbled towards the car. 

The ride back to Luke’s house was silent for the most part. Both boys were contemplating the events of the night. Percy bit his lip ring.

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Luke said suddenly. His voice wasn’t sad, just tired. As if suddenly the weight of the world was just lifted off him and he needed the biggest nap of his life. 

Percy couldn’t respond. As much as he denied it, he loved Jason. Those feelings did bury themselves for a period of time. Even after his talk with Piper, he pushed those feelings away. But working on the project with Jason and realizing how  _ right _ it felt to be around him allowed those feelings to dig back up. He loved Luke. He loved Luke so much and would do anything for Luke. But he wasn’t  _ in  _ love. And Luke was  _ in  _ love with him. And it wasn’t fair for either of them.

“I’m so sorry,” Percy whispered. “I didn’t mean for it to happen again. It just doesn’t go away as much as I wanted it to.”

“Did you ever love me?” Percy almost cried at Luke’s voice. He sounded so utterly heartbroken.

“Of course I did,” he replied with equal softness. “If I didn’t fall in love with you, you wouldn’t have been my first. You wouldn’t have impacted me as much as you did. Luke, you saved me and I can’t even explain how much you mean to me.”

Luke was silent for the rest of the ride. Only the sound of breathing filled the empty space between them until they pulled into the driveway of Luke’s empty house. Percy was out of the car and helping a buzzed Luke out before the blonde could protest. He helped him up the stairs and removed his costume, laying him in bed. Percy also took it upon himself to bring Luke a bottle of water and some ibuprofen for the possible headache he’d have in the morning. When Percy got back to Luke’s room, he was laying on his side. All Percy wanted to do was find some way to comfort him.

“Are you okay?” Percy almost banged his head against the door. Stupid question. Heartbreak was never okay.

Luke only let out a laugh, but there was a bitter aftertaste. “Why do you have to be so cute? You make it hard to ignore you,” he whispered with annoyance in his tone.

“Luke, I-”

“Just say goodnight and go. Please.”

* * *

 

Percy didn’t know where he was driving. He was too busy replaying moments with Luke in his head. Times at the corner cafe. Bed scenes. Luke had taken a picture of Percy by the curtain of his room watching the sunrise. Percy’s naked silhouette contrasting with the brightening sky- it was Percy’s favorite picture Luke took of him. He reminisced on the simpler moments where him and Luke were just sitting on the couch in comfortable silence flipping through channels. Whenever they went to bed Luke would try to find anything to talk about just to keep talking to Percy. Luke was perfect and Percy let him go.

Why was his love life so fucked up?

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t realize that he was turning onto Jason’s street. It made sense. Usually when he was upset he went to Jason. In the last few months he had no reason to be upset because of Luke. It was pure muscle memory and instinct that he was pulling into Jason’s driveway.

And Jason was home.

Percy took out his phone.

_ can i come in _

_ Yeah _

Jason must have seen his car pull up.

Percy turned his car off and unbuckled his belt. The polyester of the strap was irritating his still bare chest seeing as he was still in his costume and his costume didn’t involve a shirt. Percy cursed himself for not grabbing one of his shirts at Luke’s.

As usual, Jason’s house was empty and quiet. With the cool air finally setting now that it was past 2 am, the house seemed gripped by the cold, lacking anyone to keep it warm. Percy trudged up the stairs. The last two times he did this something happened to ruin his and Jason’s relationship. Third time’s the charm.

The door was open. Jason was laying on his bed so that his legs were hanging off and touching the floor. He was in gray sweat-shorts only. An ice pack was pressed to his cheek. He sat instantly when he heard Percy close the door. Jason had that natural blush on his cheeks that so many white boys did, but the blush deepened when he saw Percy. He pursed his lips.

Percy bit his lip, debating his words. 

“Do you, uh, have any extra clothes?”

Jason put his ice pack on his nightstand and walked over to the dresser where he pulled out a pair of underwear, shorts, and the option of a tank top. He wordless handed the clothes to Percy who took them gratefully and made his way to the connecting bathroom to change. A minute later, Percy came padding out of the bathroom barefoot, the tank top in one hand and his costume in the other. Jason gestured for Percy to throw the clothes anywhere and he did just that. Percy took the seat next to Jason on the bed so that he was leaning against the headboard. Their shoulders barely touched. The space between them was infinite and suffocating.

“Luke and I… broke up,” he said hesitantly. Jason’s eyes widened but Percy didn’t see because his vision was focused forward. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Jason.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t love him like I thought I did,” he sighed. The breakup itself didn’t hurt as much as Percy thought it would even though it was less than an hour ago. What hurt was the fact that he knew he hurt Luke. Percy himself was not hurt. And that made him feel even more awful. “I did love him though. So much. Hell, he was my first. But, I guess my true feelings could only be buried for so long.”

Jason couldn’t help the jealousy that bubbled inside him when Percy mentioned Luke being his first. Though, how did Percy feel all the times he mentioned sleeping with Piper?

“But I guess,” he continued, “that’s just how love works. It’s fucked up.” He laughed but there was no humor.

Unconsciously, Jason’s hand grabbed Percy’s and intertwined their fingers. Jason gave the raven-haired boy a squeeze.

“Am I a bad person, Jason?” Percy asked. Jason turned his head towards Percy. At that moment, Jason had never seen Percy look so tired. It was as if the sky was on his shoulders and he was just trying not to give up and drop it. 

“No,” Jason replied simply. Percy’s head drooped slightly.

“I was in love with someone else for the last month. I was basically cheating on my boyfriend emotionally. It was probably only a matter of time before I did it physically,” he admitted shamefully.

Jason grabbed Percy’s chin, turning his head so their eyes met. Their faces were only inches apart and all Jason could think about was kissing Percy. He had been to shocked and appalled the first time, but now, it was all he wanted to do. It was amazing how his feelings had changed. How the trauma of the heartbreak he experienced with Piper brought him to this point. Percy helped him heal even though he wasn’t aware that he did it. Now it was time for Jason to heal Percy.

_ Look out for ocean eyes _ .

Of course Rachel would know Jason’s feelings for Percy before Jason himself did. She was so clear-sighted. And here Jason was- blind as a bat.

He licked his lips. “You can’t control how you feel, Percy. No one can. That doesn’t make you a bad person. You are probably the least bad person in the world.”

Jason swallowed his inhibitions.

It was now or never.

Then a moment of doubt.

Fuck it.

He kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crazy!! BUT WE AREN'T DONE YET. I HAVE DRAMA IN STORE FOR YALL. Expect 2 or 3 more filler chapters with time skips so then we can get to the chapter that I'm mentally preparing to write because it'll be heavy. This is your first warning. I hope you guys really liked the chapter. I think I paced Jason's feelings decently. I would have pushed it off to Christmas but nahhh I'm too impatient and I needed Jercy ASAP. Wow they've come so far. And I feel sorry for Luke. I made Percy do him so dirty and I'm so sorry for that. I promise it all gets worse :) Hopefully in the next couple days because it's the weekend and I have no immediate homework!! Woo!! 
> 
> I missed you guys :') make sure to leave a comment even if it's just saying hi or telling me about your day. Make sure to stay hydrated and TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES. Your health, mental/emotional/physical is important. Until next time!!


	11. 1950

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1950- King Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm here, finally. Thank you for your patience. We exceeded 60 comments and are over 100 kudos now!! Thank you all so much for your support with this story, you don't know how much it means. Stick around for notes at the end and enjoy the chapter.

He was kissing Percy.

Jason was kissing Percy.

Percy was kissing back.

And it felt so damn good.

The kiss was soft and innocent. Their lips moved in sync but there was no urgency in it. Jason cupped Percy’s face tenderly and Percy’s hand found its way to the back of Jason’s head where he lightly and slowly stroked Jason’s hair. Jason expected millions of thoughts to run through his head like when Percy first kissed him. He expected there to be that same alarm that went off; there was nothing. Everything was perfect. Kissing Percy felt right. So very right. If anything, Jason wondered why his feelings for Percy were only surfacing in the last couple weeks- he could have been enjoying this for years.

He planned to make up for that lost time.

Jason tugged Percy closer, trying to find a more comfortable position to make out in. Percy seemed to understand what exactly Jason was doing and decided to straddle the blonde. Percy’s hands moved to either side of Jason’s face as he deepened the kiss. Jason wrapped his arms around Percy’s waist pulling them impossibly close. The feeling of Percy’s bare skin against his made Jason’s brain fuzzy. Their bodies fit so perfectly together. Percy swiped his tongue across Jason’s bottom lip, asking for entrance, which Jason gladly gave.

Something told him he’d give Percy anything in that moment.

His hands trailed down from Percy’s waist, his fingertips ghosting over the boy’s sides. Each second they got lower. Just as his fingers slightly dipped under Percy’s waistband did the raven-haired boy pull away.

Green eyes stared into blue ones wide with confusion and surprise.

“Wow,” he breathed.

“Wow,” agreed Jason.

Percy crawled off Jason’s lap slowly and sat back next to the boy. They were both looking forward at nothing in particular much like how they were minutes before.

“I just broke up with my boyfriend. And I just made out with my best friend who I never expected to kiss again,” Percy spoke openly, not to Jason, but not to himself either. He just voiced his thoughts. Jason understood. He almost felt bad for making Percy as confused as he probably was. Key word: almost. That kiss was too amazing to regret anything- only regretting not doing it sooner.

“He didn’t expect to kiss you again either until tonight. He’s wanted to, though,” Jason supplied as he played with his fingers in his lap.

“For how long? Was what Luke said true… that you were checking out my ass and flirting with me tonight?”

Jason shrugged. “I mean, yeah. You looked pretty good in those pants.”

“Since when?”

Jason bit down a laugh at the placement of the question. He knew that Percy wasn’t asking when Jason realized his ass was nice, but since he realized his feelings about Percy.

“A few weeks,” he admitted. “But you were with Luke and they just kind of… appeared. But I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t want to ruin anything between you and Luke and…” he trailed off after realizing he was rambling. If he got any deeper he would have scared Percy off. Hell, he’d scare himself off. Jason had only given so much thought to his feelings about Percy. The fact that they were even having this conversation- the fact that they _made out_ wasn’t even in the cards.

“You’re a sap,” Percy yawned, stretching his limbs. “And tomorrow, well today, is Monday. Why did Drew have her party on a Sunday? I don’t plan on going to school later. If you’re not either, I wouldn’t mind spending the day trying to figure… this out,” he suggested.

Jason bit his lip. He had never skipped school before not matter how much Percy begged him. The only time he missed school was when he broke his arm but Jason’s dad got that erased from his permanent record (perks of having a rich daddy that expected a perfect son). But skipping meant he could spend a whole day with Percy doing whatever and maybe that wasn’t so bad. _Maybe you’d get a few more kisses out of it_ he thought.

“Wow, Superman, didn’t know I was that good of a kisser,” Percy teased. The blonde’s head whipped toward the older boy who was grinning widely- it was almost comical. “I’m offended.”

“D-did I say that out loud?”

“Sure did!” Percy exclaimed proudly. Suddenly. His lips were pressed against Jason’s for a moment before they were gone once again. “Goodnight, Jase.” Percy got under the covers and pulled them over himself. Jason did the same once he regained his bearings. He shut off the light on the nightstand that was illuminating the room, plunging it into darkness.

There was some shuffling of the covers and a warm body pressed against Jason’s side, an arm draped over his strong stomach and a head on his shoulder. Jason didn’t question it. Instead, he wrapped his arm around the smaller boy’s shoulder and pulled him closer.

It was cold, he needed the warmth.

Oh, and it felt really good.

* * *

 

The warmth wasn’t there when Jason woke up. The other side of the bed was empty and Percy was missing from his arms. Thankfully it wasn’t cold that morning so he didn’t suffer from waking up half naked and freezing his nipples off. Another perk of having a rich daddy- your house is always the perfect temperature. Heating bill who? We don’t know her.

Blindly, Jason reached out for his phone, feeling around until he found it on his nightstand. He blearily opened his eyes, dreading the light that would flood his vision from the sun coming into the room and from his phone.

9:37 AM

And he had a text.

_Come downstairs when ur ready ;)_ **sent: 9:31**

Jason didn’t need to be told twice as he threw off the covers and rushed out of his room, nearly tripping over himself and he padded down the stairs excitedly. With each step, the smell of breakfast (you know the smell) grew stronger. When Jason rounded the corner into the kitchen, he found Percy moving around the area, tending to the eggs, toast, pancakes, coffee, and fruit. The island was littered with ingredients scattered around it but Percy navigated the mess expertly. He could hear the boy singing along to the song that played in the background.

“ _I love it when we play 1950_

_It's so cold that your stare's 'bout to kill me_

_I'm surprised when you kiss me_

_So tell me why my gods look like you_

_And tell me why it's wrong_ ,” he sang softly with the music.

Percy’s voice was good. Nothing special, but Jason enjoyed hearing it even if it was just barely. Jason stood leaning against the far counter, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Percy work. A smile danced on his lips. Never in his life had he seen Percy so concentrated on anything- not even eating itself. And what made it better? He was doing it for Jason. He could get used to this. There was something endearingly domestic about the ordeal. But Jason was only 17 and Percy was 18. Read: too young to even _think_ about marriage. Also, Jason was still trying to sort out his feelings. So far he had just determined that sexuality was a spectrum and fluid and he had been stupid to not see Percy in front of him this whole time.

It was nearly 5 minutes before Percy finally noticed Jason’s presence. Breakfast was finished by this point- an assortment of foods spread on the island as well as some yummy looking smoothies. The song seemed to be in a loop because it was on its second play by the time Percy looked up.

“ _I hope that you're happy with me in your life_

_I hope that you won't slip away in the night_

_I hope that you're happy with me in your life_

_I hope that you won't slip away_ …” the last words died on his lips as his eyes met Jason’s. Percy’s face reddened.

“How long have you been standing there?” he asked nervously.

Jason shrugged. “Long enough,” he grinned. “What song were you singing?”

“1950 by King Princess. She's, uh, lesbian. I discovered her music this summer,” the raven-haired boy explained.

“Nice nice,” Jason mumbled. He surveyed the island, walking closer to Percy until they were inches apart. “So you did this for me?”

“Who said this was for you? I have most definitely eaten this much on my own before.”

“Your text.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” sighed Percy.

“You somehow woke up before me. That was surprising enough. I thought I hallucinated last night. Figured Luke punched me so hard I started having visions.” Percy laughed which Jason was thankful for. Mentioning Luke could have gone either really well or really bad. He was glad it was the former.

“Speaking of,” Percy said, “how is your face? It doesn’t look that bad, just a little bruise and a small cut.”

Jason touched his cheek tenderly. “Yeah it doesn’t hurt that much.” He turned back to the food, then back to Percy, wiggling his eyebrows. “So are you just going to keep me from the food you made me?”

* * *

 

They sat on opposite ends of Jason’s unnecessarily long dining room table. It was very Beauty and the Beast-esque, or Anakin and Padme (before he went bat-shit). They ate in comfortable silence. Jason looked up every so often from his food to see Percy eyeing him hungrily (no pun intended).

“You good, Perce?” the blonde asked.

Percy huffed. “You know how goddamn distracting you are without a shirt?”

“How distracting?” Jason teased.

“Extremely.”

“Good.”

* * *

 

Jason eventually put on a shirt (Percy wasn’t sure if he was happy or disappointed. Probably disappointed but it was for the best). They decided to stay in their pajamas all day, not really finding a reason to get ready since they had nowhere to be. Most of the day was spent on the couch as they watched Disney movies. Percy sat between Jason’s legs with his back against the blonde’s chest, wrapped in his arms. Their position only disturbed whenever Percy insisted he had to get up and _perform_ whatever song was being sung. Jason had to admit, seeing Percy play Moana as he made-believed around the living room _might_ have been the most adorable thing he had ever witnessed.

Thing was: Percy had done it countless times before.

When their movie marathons involved Disney movies, Percy was always acting out certain parts in sync with the characters or belting out their songs with gusto. It was only now that Jason noticed how happy it made him feel. How happy Percy made him feel.

It was nearing 3 PM when they duo decided they finally needed to have the talk they had been inadvertently avoiding the whole day. They had shifted so Jason’s head was resting in Percy’s lap and the older boy stroked his hair and massaged his scalp absentmindedly. Coco was playing on the TV but neither were paying attention (which was a shame because they both knew that the movie was one of the best).

“What are we?” Percy asked suddenly. Jason looked up and saw Percy staring back down at him. _How are his eyes so beautiful?_

“What do you want to be?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I… I think we both need to work some stuff out. I still need to find closure with Luke and jumping into another relationship wouldn’t be fair to him. And you I think need to do some soul-searching and talk to Piper at some point.”

Jason deflated. It sounded as if his short-lived time with Percy was just that: short lived.

“I do like you, though. Holy _fuck_ , Jason, I like you. And I don’t want us to just not do nothing.”

“So… what are you suggesting?” the blonde asked skeptically. Percy’s plans were usually pretty out there.

Percy took a breath. “What if we did a friends-with-benefits thing?”

Jason sat up lightning fast. “You mean like the Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis movie?”

“Yeah, well, kinda. I mean, we don’t have to do the things they did, unless you want to, but uh,” Percy stuttered, realizing that he just told Jason that he’d be fine if they slept together. Clearly it wasn’t lost on Jason either who blushed.

“We can just be private and no strings attached. Kiss, cuddle, hang out, whatever, just without the label. If it doesn’t work out I don’t want to lose you as a friend… again.”

Jason nodded, understanding Percy’s plan. It somewhat made sense. They could just test the waters of the relationship without making it super public and extravagant. If it didn’t work out, the drama would be kept to a minimum and what happened would stay between them (and whomever they’d inevitably tell). The worst that could happen would be that they didn’t work out.

“Deal,” Jason said, sticking out his hand.

“Actually, I was thinking we could seal the deal with a kiss.”

A grin made its way onto Jason’s face.

“If you insist.”

Damn Percy was a good kisser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter was a pain in the ass to write. It's been a difficult week mentally for me and for some reason the words just couldn't come out. But I finished. If you didn't notice, I also decided how many chapters this should be. Chapter 15 will be the EPILOGUE. So that means no sequel :( I realized I wanted to try to do other stories and types of stories. I have many outlined already and a few I want to flesh out for my next story. It probably won't be as long as this one, 10 chapters at most, still Jercy, but totally different story. It also probably won't be an AU and will be post Giant War since that's what I want to do next. AUs are lowkey difficult cuz you need to bend ALL the rules and be super creative which I'm not. Also I'll probably make a spotify playlist with these songs at the end. 4 more chapters. Home stretch. I can't thank you all enough for the support and patience you've had with me. I'll update as soon as I can. I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was awful. Until next time: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES. REGISTER TO VOTE. DO YOUR SKIN ROUTINE. GO OUT AND ACTUALLY VOTE. STAY HYDRATED. FIGHT THE PATRIARCHY. ENJOY THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF 20GAYTEEN!!
> 
> (Also I'm not sure if I added Percy and Jason's ages earlier but we just gonna say Percy is 18 and cut cut off for school is August 1st which is a LIE, hence why AUs are hard cuz we gonna bend the rules, and Jason is 17 and just started school early cuz he's rich and smart or whatever? Okay? Okay, ttyl)


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